THE  RE-SHAPING  OF  THE 
FAR  EAST 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 

SEP  2 5 2007 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


And  the  second  . . . poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sea  and  it 
became  as  the  blood  of  a dead  man;  and  every  living  soul  died  in 
the  sea. 

And  the  third  . . . poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  rivers  and  fountains 
of  waters  ; and  they  became  blood. 

And  the  fourth  . . . poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sun ; and  power 
was  given  him  to  scorch  men  with  fire. 

And  the  sixth  . . . poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  great  river 
Euphrates,  and  the  water  thereof  was  dried  up  that  the  ways  of 
THE  Kings  of  the  East  might  be  prepared.  . . . 

And  I saw  three  unclean  spirits  ...  for  they  are  the  spirits  of 
devils  working  miracles  which  go  forth  to  the  kings  of  the  earth  and 
of  the  whole  world  to  gather  together  to  the  battle  of  that  great 
day  . . . into  a place  called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  Armageddon.  . . . 


Blowing  up  op'  the  East  Kekwanshan  Fort  at  Port  Arthur. 


THE  RE-SHAPING 

OF 

THE  FAR  EAST 


BY 

B.  L.  PUTNAM  WEALE 

AUTHOR  OF  “MANCHU  AND  MUSCOVITE” 


VOL.  I 


JVITH  NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRATIONS 
FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


WtiD  gotk 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  & CO.,  Ltd. 

1905 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1905, 

By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.  Published  December,  1905. 


Norwood  Press 

y.  S.  Cushing  & Co.  — Berwick  & Smith  Co. 
Norwood^  Mass.y  U.S.A. 


Ex  Oriente  lux 


TO  ALL  ANGLO-SAXONS 
THIS  MESSAGE  FROM  THE 


UTTERMOST  EAST 


, •* 
• K 


PREFACE 


The  kind  reception  accorded  by  both  the  English 
and  American  Press  and  public  to  a first  book  deal- 
ing exhaustively  with  the  Russians  in  Manchuria, 
and  exposing  the  true  position  of  the  Northern 
Colossus  in  the  coveted  Chinese  provinces,  has 
made  me  suppose  that  a second  work  treating  the 
whole  Far  East  in  the  same  intimate  manner  may 
likewise  do  something  towards  correcting  the  many 
erroneous  impressions  which  are  fast  growing  up 
as  one  of  the  immediate  results  of  the  war.  This 
second  volume  is,  therefore,  in  many  respects  a 
sequel  to  the  first,  and  deals  mainly  with  the 
Northern  Far  East  — that  is,  the  territories  lying 
north  of  the  Yangtsze. 

The  whole  story  of  the  past  decade  in  China, 
Manchuria,  Korea,  and  Japan  has  been  a most 
curious  one,  and  the  manner  in  which  all  these 
countries  have  become  entangled  with  one  another 
and  with  rival  European  nations  is  probably  without 
parallel  in  the  world’s  history.  In  the  pages  which 
follow  everything  that  needs  ample  explanation  is 
amply  explained ; some  unimportant  travels  are 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


recorded  to  give  the  reader  the  necessary  “atmos- 
phere ” and  to  allow  something  of  the  actual  con- 
ditions of  the  Far  East  to  be  understood  by  all; 
and  finally,  the  progress  of  the  great  war  now 
raging  is  very  fully  dealt  with  in  a tentative 
fashion. 

Too  many  already  conclude  that  if  Russia  is 
finally  driven  across  the  Amur,  or  even  decides  on 
peace  at  any  price,  everything  will  be  quiet  in  the 
Far  East  for  decades  to  come  without  any  other 
work  being  necessary  than  that  which  may  be 
accomplished  by  the  victorious  Japanese  armies. 

Such  is  not  the  case. 

Until  China  has  become  a powerful  country,  able 
to  manage  her  own  affairs,  intrigues  in  which  all 
will  be  concerned  will  never  cease.  That  Japan  can 
ever  control  China  is  a vain  dream,  for  China  is  too 
big  and  has  too  much  latent  strength  to  be  handled 
by  any  one  country  successfully.  Should  public 
opinion  in  England  succeed  in  at  last  awakening  the 
British  Government  to  a sense  of  its  responsibilities 
in  China  and  to  the  necessity  for  instant  action, 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  next  thirty  or  forty  years 
should  not  be  peaceful  ones.  But  if  the  matters 
herein  touched  upon  are  not  properly  understood 
and  steps  are  not  taken  to  deal  with  every  point 
which  needs  dealing  with,  there  will  be  another  war 
in  a very  few  years.  This  is  a point  to  which  great 
attention  should  be  directed. 

In  support  of  all  the  strong  and  uncompromising 
opinions  expressed  in  the  pages  which  follow,  I 


PREFACE 


IX 


may,  perhaps,  state  with  some  pardonable  pride  that 
almost  every  word  in  “ Manchu  and  Muscovite  ” 
has  been  verified  by  the  march  of  events  in  Man- 
churia, and  that  in  no  case  have  any  of  my  state- 
ments, first  received  a little  incredulously  in  certain 
quarters,  been  proved  to  be  anything  but  the  barest 
facts.  A prologue  and  a very  full  appendix  add  the 
head  and  tail  to  the  body  of  the  book. 

B.  L,  PUTNAM  WEALE. 

China,  June,  1905. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE I 

CHAPTER  I 

SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 50 

CHAPTER  II 

HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 76 

CHAPTER  III 

SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 90 

CHAPTER  IV 

ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY Ill 

CHAPTER  V 

A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 1 26 

CHAPTER  VI 

KAIFENGFU,  ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  AND  ON  TO  PEKING  . 1 44 

CHAPTER  VII 


TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS 


173 


CONTENTS 


xii 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  MANCHU  COURT 

CHAPTER  X 

THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA  AND  THEIR  FUTURE 

CHAPTER  XI 

THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  SUNDRY  EXPLANATIONS 

CHAPTER  XII 

TIENTSIEN,  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  AND  THE  PRESENT  OUTLOOK  . 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  DISPUTED  SEAS  AND  THE  TRADE  IN  CONTRABAND  . 

CHAPTER  XIV 

TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  . . . . 

CHAPTER  XV 

THE  COLONY  OF  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME 

CHAPTER  XVI 

ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY  FROM  TSINGTAO  TO  THE  SHANTUNG 
CAPITAL 

CHAPTER  XVII 

JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

MISREPRESENTATIONS  AND  MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


PAGE 

193 

212 

236 

259 

284 

296 

314 

334 

364 

388 

424 


CONTENTS 


Xlll 


CHAPTER  XIX 

PAGE 

ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN <>457 

CHAPTER  XX 

THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT  ......  480 

CHAPTER  XXI 

FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 499 

CHAPTER  XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


528 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Blowing  up  of  the  East  Kekwanshan  Fort  at  Port  Arthur  Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

The  Great  Wall  of  China 8 

The  Mountainous  Frontiers  of  Northern  China  ....  12 

Mongols  and  Northern  Chinese  in  Winter  Sheepskins  ...  16 

A Water  Gate  leading  into  a City 16 

Manchu  Ladies  in  their  Best 22 

The  Guardians  of  the  Ming  Tombs 64 

Native  Shipping  snug  in  a Creek 68 

On  the  Yangtsze 68 

A Chinese  City  in  the  Canal  Country  ......  98 

A River  which  will  feed  the  Railway 98 

A Chinese  Venice  .........  105 

Along  the  Grand  Canal 105 

Provincial  Soldiery  Brigand  Hunting 116 

A Station  on  the  Hankow-Peking  Railway  . . . . .116 

The  Start 128 

Crossing  a “ Sandy  River” 128 

An  Old  Honan  Village 136 

In  a Roadside  Inn 136 

On  the  Banks  of  the  Yellow  River 150 

On  the  Road  150 

On  the  Upper  Yangtsze 158 

Crossing  the  Yellow  River 158 

The  First  Sign  of  the  Real  North  — a Camel  Caravan  . . . 162 

A Bridge  on  the  Peking  Railway 176 

Belgian  Railway  Building 190 

Under  the  Peking  Walls 193 


XV 


XVI 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING  PAGE 


A Riding  Camel  from  Mongolia 193 

View  of  the  Fortified  Legations  — The  Eastern  Entrance  . . 202 

The  Fortified  Legations  — Northern  Entrance  ....  202 

Outside  a Yamen 218 

A Tartar  Tower  at  Peking 218 

Inside  the  Palace 230 

A Peking  Street,  seen  from  the  Tartar  Wall  ....  240 

A Peking  P’ar-lon,  or  Decorative  Arch 250 

The  Summer  Palace  at  Peking 264 

Coming  down  from  the  North  .......  278 

Viceroy  Yiian  Shih-kai 288 

Tientsien 292 

News  from  Port  Arthur.  The  Commander  of  the  Russian  De- 
stroyer “ Rastaroping  ” landing  at  Chefoo,  15th  November, 

1904 306 

The  End  of  a Torpedo-boat  Messenger  .....  306 

A Street  in  Tsingtao 322 

A Tsingtao  Review 345 

The  Governor  of  Shantung  being  entertained  at  Tsingtao  . . 345 

Loading  in  the  Tsingtao  Harbour 358 

On  the  German  Railway  ........  364 

Tsingtao  Station 364 

Off  to  the  War 4°5 

A Hospital  Ship  swinging  in  from  Manchuria  ....  405 

Japanese  Children  watching  a Banzin  Procession  . . *419 

A Nikko  Temple 4^9 

Fuji,  the  Sacred  Mountain . 420 

A Japanese  Garden 45^ 

Drummers  and  Buglers  of  the  Weihaiwei  Regiment  . . .462 

Along  the  Japanese  Coast 4^6 

Fusan  Harbour 5^^ 

A Street  in  Japanese  Fusan 5^^ 

The  Town  of  Taiku 5^^ 

On  the  Seoul-Fusan  Railway  . . • • • • *5^9 

On  the  Seoul-Fusan  Railway 5*9 

Outside  the  Seoul  Palace  . . 535 

Outside  the  Seoul  Palace 535 


THE  RE-SHAPING  OF  THE 
FAR  EAST 


RESHAPING  OF  THE  FAR  EAST 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 
I.  The  Coming  oj  the  Chinese 

Far  back,  at  some  period  lost  in  the  mists  of  anti- 
quity, the  first  bands  of  Chinese,  shouldering  their  heavy 
bundles  and  hurrying  on  their  clumsy  carts,  pushed 
from  the  plains  of  Western  Asia  towards  the  East. 
Frojm  whence  these  men  came,  what  were  the  actual 
causes  inducing  the  first  beginnings  of  a vast  migra- 
tion, what  route  they  followed,  are  questions  no  man 
can  answer.  It  has,  however,  been  reserved  for  a 
Frenchman,  the  distinguished  Terrien  de  Lacouperie, 
to  establish  with  many  incontestable  proofs  that  this 
migration  did  take  place  from  some  point  in  Meso- 
potamia, south  of  the  Caspian  Sea.  In  support  of 
his  proposition  he  has  shown  that  the  primitive 
written  character  of  certain  peoples  in  Mesopotamia 
bore  a marked  resemblance  to  the  pictorial  writing 
of  the  early  Chinese;  that  the  worship  of  Shang-ti 
and  the  Six  Honoured  Ones  in  China  — the  Supreme 
Being  and  the  subordinate  gods  — is  borrowed  from 

VOL.  I — B I 


2 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


the  Susians;  and  finally  that  the  early  Chinese  know- 
ledge of  astronomy,  medicine,  canals  and  artificial 
waterways  is  identical  with  that  of  Babylonia. 

Moving  slowly  forward,  and  possibly  halting  for 
many  years  at  a time  in  the  oases  of  Eastern  Turke- 
stan, the  invaders  finally  entered  the  borders  of  the 
China  of  to-day  between  the  33rd  and  the  38th 
parallels,  and  formed  their  first  settlements  in  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Yellow  River.  From  the  western- 
most provinces  of  Kansu  and  Shensi  they  spread 
their  lapping  waves  of  industrious  men  forward  into 
Shansi  and  rich  Honan;  and  soon  multiplying  and 
increasing,  developing  themselves  by  their^  commun- 
istic co-operative  system  (necessary  in  the  first  in- 
stance for  protection  against  the  savage  hordes  of 
aborigines  and  marauders  who  must  have  surrounded 
them),  they  at  last  became  a primitive  and  homo- 
geneous kingdom  or  dukedom. 

What  is  the  approximate  date  at  which  these 
events  took  place  ? It  is  impossible  to  say.  Lacouperie 
insists  that  the  migration  is  as  recent  as  the  twenty- 
first  century  before  Christ,  or  but  four  thousand  years 
ago.  The  Chinese  aver  that  their  ancient  or  legen- 
dary history  began  at  a date  which  has  been  variously 
calculated  at  b.c.  2852  to  b.c.  3322.  Distinguished 
sinologues  dispute  acrimoniously  with  one  another 
over  these  interesting  if  obscure  points,  and  it  is 
therefore  best  to  place  ourselves  outside  the  arena  of 
doubtful  argument  and  merely  record  the  most  prob- 
able theories. 

The  view  held  by  some  that  the  earliest  Chinese 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


3 


records  deal  with  dynasties  and  annals  of  the  peoples 
who  were  indigenous  to  the  soil  of  China,  and  not 

with  their  own,  seems  untenable.  That  kings  did 

rule,  that  wise  laws  were  made,  and  that  many 

things  of  permanent  value  were  accomplished  before 
the  advent  to  power  of  the  Emperor  Yao  (2085-2004) 
is  quite  certain;  and  therefore  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  Chinese  records  deal  with  events  an- 
terior to  the  great  migration  — in  other  words  that 
Chinese  history  extends  its  chronicles  over  a portion 
of  the  Central  Asian  plateau. 

Turning  to  records  of  the  highest  antiquity,  we 
find  that  Emperor  Fu-hsi  thirty  centuries  before 

Christ  (which  is  about  the  same  time  as  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Assyrian  Monarchy)  is  the  first 
leader  mentioned  by  name.  Fu-hsi  earned  eternal 
fame  by  designing  the  six  classes  of  written  charac- 
ters; by  inventing  the  notation;  by  establishing  the 
laws  of  marriage;  and  by  many  other  manifestations 
of  brain  culture  dear  to  the  Chinese  scholar.  Shen- 
nung,  who  succeeded  him,  is  credited  with  having 
instructed  the  people  in  agriculture,  established  public 
markets,  and  discovered  the  medicinal  properties  of 
various  herbs.  After  this  ruler  came  a sovereign  no 
less  excellent  — indeed  the  lustre  of  his  ancient  reign 
was  so  great  that  it  has  not  yet  been  dimmed  — the 
great  Huang-ti,  who  may  be  called  the  first  empire- 
builder.  He  began  by  defeating  all  rivals  to  his 
power,  and  inaugurated,  if  he  did  not  actually  invent, 
the  decimal  system  by  dividing  his  territory  up  with 
a mathematical  accuracy.  Ten  towns  became  one 


4 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


district,  ten  districts  one  department,  ten  departments 
one  province,  and  finally  ten  provinces  one  empire. 
Weights  and  measures  were  also  fixed  on  the  same 
principle;  and  whilst  pre-historic  man  in  Europe  and 
the  Americas  was  rubbing  his  skin-covered  back 
against  trees  of  primaeval  forests,  the  young  Chinese 
was  industriously  working  out  his  sums  to  six  places 
of  decimals  on  the  abacus.  Utensils  of  wood,  pottery, 
and  metal  were  even  then  manufactured,  and  already 
the  Chinese  were  on  the  high-road  of  progress  and 
emerging  from  flock- tending.  During  Huang-ti’s  long 
reign,  which  is  somewhat  naively  estimated  by  the 
old  chroniclers  as  having  lasted  a full  century,  the 
Chinese  movement  towards  settlement,  proceeding 
from  the  Kansu-Shensi,  Shansi-Honan  regions 
adjoining  the  Yellow  River,  slowly  but  surely 
spread  over  all  the  country  north  of  the  Yangtsze 
and  south  of  the  Pechili  regions,  absorbing  or 
destroying  the  aborigines  whose  ancient  hunting- 
grounds  were  to  be  converted  into  well-tilled  fields. 
Huang-ti’s  sons  and  successors  are  believed  to  have 
carried  the  standard  of  Chinese  agriculture  and  in- 
dustrialism forward,  and  to  have  planted  Chinese 
colonies  as  far  south  as  Tonkin  and  as  far  north  as 
Manchuria;  but  this  is  still  the  legendary  period,  and 
nothing  accurate  is  really  known. 

It  is  not  till  the  advent  to  power  of  the  Emperor 
Yao,  about  twenty  centuries  before  Christ,  that  the 
semi-fabulous  ends  and  that  the  great  philosopher 
and  historiographer  Confucius  deems  the  history  of 
China  and  Chinese  sovereigns  to  begin. 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


5 


The  Emperor  Yao  was  intelligent  and  well-informed 
and  ruled  well  and  wisely,  and  was  followed  by  the 
Emperor  Shun,  a no  less  accomplished  monarch. 
These  names,  Yao  and  Shun,  belong  to  a period 
obscure  to  a degree ; but  it  is  incontestable  that 
during  their  reigns  the  Chinese  settlers  were  drawn 
more  and  more  closely  to  one  another,  and  that  this 
welding,  in  the  twentieth  century  before  Christ  and 
on  the  great  plains  of  the  Yellow  River,  was  the 
beginning  of  the  Chinese  Erhpire. 

During  Shun’s  reign  the  Yellow  River  burst  its 
banks  for  the  first  time  and  flooded  the  country  far 
and  wide.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the 
twentieth  century  of  our  era  a European  engineer 
has  been  called  in  to  express  an  opinion  on  the 

dyking  works  — works  which  go  back  to  the  time  of 

Shun,  and  for  which  their  originator,  a certain  official 
named  Yu,  received  as  a reward  the  throne  of  China 
on  the  death  of  the  former  sovereign. 

Yu  became  first  emperor  of  the  Hsia  Dynasty, 
and  after  him  came  sixteen  sovereigns,  whose  reigns 
bring  us  down  to  b.c.  1687.  The  record  of  this 

first  dynasty  is  the  record  of  every  dynasty  in  China 
down  to  modern  times.  The  founder  and  his  im- 
mediate successors  developed  their  territory,  be- 

haved wisely  to  their  subjects,  and  consolidated  the 
growing  Chinese.  The  last  occupants  of  the  throne, 
with  nothing  to  restrain  their  evil  passions,  shut 
themselves  up  in  their  palaces,  and  by  indulging  in 
every  form  of  vice,  invited  the  fate  which  soon 
overtook  them.  In  1687  b.c.  matters  had  reached 


6 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


such  a pitch  that  the  Chinese  rose  en  masse  against 
the  seventeenth  sovereign  of  the  Hsia  Dynasty, 
and  the  leader  of  this  revolutionary  movement,  a 
certain  T’ang,  proclaimed  himself  Son  of  Heaven, 
by  the  Grace  of  God  and  the  strength  of  his  own 
arms. 

The  Shang  Dynasty  established  by  T’ang  pro- 
vided twenty-nine  sovereigns,  before  it  was  finally 
brought  to  an  end  by  extravagance,  lust,  and 
cruelty  which  eclipsed  anything  heard  of  before. 
Inevitable  rebellion  followed.  The  successful  leader 
seized  the  Imperial  Sceptre  and  a third  dynasty,  that 
of  Chau,  was  founded.  The  Chau  sovereigns 
ruled  for  873  years,  and  numbered  thirty-five 
monarchs.  Wars  and  rebellions,  the  growth  and 
disappearance  of  numberless  feudal  States,  the 
undertaking  of  countless  expeditions,  — all  these 
things  fill  the  chronicles  of  these  times.  The 
Chinese  giant,  still  a mere  boy,  was  meanwhile 
growing  to  his  full  strength,  was  stretching  his  arms 
and  legs  out  this  way  and  that,  always  extending 
farther  and  farther  afield,  assimilating  aborigines 
and  wandering  tribes,  asserting  himself  and  over- 
balancing himself  again  and  again  — but  always 
growing.  It  w^as  during  the  latter  part  of  the  Chau 
Dynasty  that  those  three  most  remarkable  men, 
Lao-tzu,  Confucius,  and  Mencius,  flourished  — each 
of  them  born  in  a petty  State  or  princedom,  which 
had  been  evolved  out  of  the  earlier  provinces  and 
military  border  commands  of  the  Chinese  Emperors. 
Lao-tzu  dreams  and  has  wild  visions ; Confucius 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


7 


journeys  from  State  to  State  and  occupies  himself 
with  ceremonies  and  moral  precepts;  Mencius  con- 
ceives his  system.  The  shadow  of  the  Chinese 
throne  was  still  as  dimly  cast  over  the  outlying 
provinces  as  that  of  the  German  Emperor  during  the 
latter  half  of.  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  Even  Con- 
fucius is  astounded  at  the  confusion  of  the  times. 
Journeying  from  his  native  State  he  meets  a weeping 
woman  at  the  roadside.  One  of  the  disciples  who 
surrounded  him  is  despatched  to  inquire  the  cause 
of  her  grief.  ‘^You  weep,”  said  the  messenger  in 
the  sonorous  language  of  long  ago,  “as  if  you  had 
experienced  sorrow  upon  sorrow.”  “Alas,  I have!” 
says  the  woman.  “My  father  was  killed  here  by 
a tiger  — my  husband  also.  And  now  my  only  son 
has  experienced  the  same  fate.”  “Why,  then,  do 
you  not  move  from  this  accursed  place?”  inquires 
Confucius,  who  meanwhile  has  drawn  near.  “Master, 
because  here  there  is  no  oppressive  government,” 
answers  the  woman.  Turning  to  his  disciples  Con- 
fucius delivers  himself  of  these  words:  “My  children, 
remember  well  this  thing,  — oppressive  government 
is  fiercer  than  any  tiger.” 

Meanwhile  ominous  signs  were  not  wanting  that 
the  Chau  Dynasty  was  to  suffer  its  natural  fate. 
In  due  course  the  feudal  State  of  Chfin  subdued  the 
sovereign,  overturned  the  throne,  and  the  son  of 
the  conqueror  founded  the  fourth  dynasty,  that  of 
Ch’in,  in  B.c.  220.  Chi-Huang-ti  was  a man  of  con- 
summate skill  and  ability.  It  was  he  who  divided 
the  entire  Empire  up  anew  into  thirty-six  provinces; 


8 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


who  ordered  the  building  of  the  Great  Wall  of  China, 
and  set  millions  of  men  to  work  on  it;  who  cut  the 
grand  canals  that  still  intersect  China;  who  built 
palaces  and  roads,  walled  cities  and  ships,  and  then, 
jealous  of  the  fame  which  the  founders  of  the  earlier 
dynasties  had  earned  in  the  hearts  of  his  letter- 
loving  population,  ordered  the  famous  burning  of 
the  books.  According  to  Chi-Huang-ti^s  insane 
decree,  the  entire  literature  of  China,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  certain  works  on  divination  and  medicine,  was 
to  be  destroyed.  His  lieutenants  saw  that  the  Imperial 
command  was  carried  out  to  the  letter;  but  notwith- 
standing every  effort,  secret  copies  were  hidden 
away,  and  this,  helped  by  the  retentive  memories  of 
the  literati,  secured  that,  as  soon  as  it  was  safe,  the 
literature  of  the  country  could  be  once  more  available. 

A short  decade  and  a half  after  the  founding  of 
the  Chhn  Dynasty,  it  had  ceased  to  exist;  and  al- 
though the  volcanic  energy  of  Chi-Huang-ti  had 
created  many  public  works  of  inestimable  value,  he 
is  remembered  to-day  only  for  his  vandalism. 

The  modern  history  of  China  now  begins.  In 
206  B.c.  the  Han  Dynasty  was  founded.  All  Northern 
China  was  incorporated  within  the  Empire,  and  a 
great  revival  of  learning  took  place.  So  lasting  is 
the  mark  of  the  Han  Dynasty  in  Northern  China, 
that  to  this  day  from  the  left  bank  of  the  Yangtsze  to 
Peking  the  people  call  themselves  “Han-jen,”  or 
“Men  of  Han.’’  Up  to  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  the 
Christian  era  the  Hans  remained  supreme;  then  the 
Empire  split  up  into  two,  forming  the  Eastern  and 


The  Great  Wall  of  China. 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


9 


Western  Han.  This  lasted  until  a.d.  220.  Mean- 
while in  Central  and  Southern  China  little  States 
which  acknowledged  themselves  feudatories  of  the 
Great  Emperor  waxed  and  waned.  With  the  end 
of  the  Han  regime  a succession  of  monarchs  as- 
cended the  throne,  with  dynasties  and  dates  hope- 
lessly obscure.  From  a.d.  265  to  a.d.  419  the  Ch’in 
and  Eastern  Ch^in  ruled.  Then  a victorious  general 
proclaimed  himself  Emperor  and  founded  the  throne 
of  northern  Sung.  After  this  came,  rapidly  following 
each  other,  dynasties  of  such  obscurity  that  their 
very  names  are  disputed,  till  history  brings  us  down 
to  A.D.  618. 

In  that  year  was  founded  the  Tang  Dynasty, 
destined  to  endure  till  a.d.  907,  and  the  Imperial 
power,  which  at  times  had  been  almost  non-existent, 
was  greatly  increased.  Southern  China  was  formally 
incorporated  within  the  direct  jurisdiction  of  the 
throne,  so  that,  just  as  northern  Chinese  call  them- 
selves men  of  Han,  the  inhabitants  of  the  south 
call  themselves  men  of  Tang.  The  twenty- three 
sovereigns  of  the  line  'of  Tang  who  sat  upon  the 
throne  devoted  their  best  efforts  towards  a consoli- 
dation of  their  power,  a revival  of  learning,  and  an 
encouragement  of  the  fine  arts.  Their  generals 
extended  the  Empire  south  and  west,  and  the  far- 
flung  Celestial  banners  floated  in  Turkestan,  in 
Persia,  in  Tonkin.  Then,  as  the  inevitable  falling 
away  occurred  in  the  tenth  century,  the  dynasty 
could  no  longer  withstand  the  shocks  of  hostile 
forces  both  from  within  and  without,  and  in  907 


lO 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


civil  war,  invasions,  and  discords  caused  the  last 
Tang  sovereign  to  succumb. 

In  960  another  of  the  great  dynasties,  the  Sung, 
was  founded.  The  power  of  the  throne  was  greatly 
centralised  and  that  of  provincial  governors  cur- 
tailed, and  then,  after  many  centuries,  having 
allowed  the  Chinese  to  develop  as  a nation  in 
such  a wonderful  manner,  the  North  appears  for 
the  first  time  on  the  scenes.  It  is  time  to  realise 
how  the  second  great  phase  in  Chinese  history  — 
the  unending  influence  of  the  untamed  North  — 
foreseen  by  the  great  Emperor  Chi-Huang-ti  in  the 
year  220  before  Christ,  when  he  began  the  building 
of  the  Great  Wall  of  China,  became  for  over  a 
thousand  years  one  of  the  most  important  factors 
in  the  Far  Eastern  problem. 


2.  The  North  Asserts  Itself 

The  rapid  review  of  thirty  odd  centuries  of 
Chinese  history  has  shown  us  that  the  Chinese 
and  English  systems  of  colonisation  are  not  dis- 
similar. 

Beginning  at  a period  at  least  as  remote  as  the 
foundation  of  the  Assyrian  Monarchy,  Chinese 
settlers  with  indefatigable  industry  had  overcome 
every  obstacle  placed  in  their  path ; had  pushed 
their  advanced  posts  forward  from  their  first  home 
in  the  Yellow  River  valleys  until  they  had  success- 
fully occupied  every  corner  of  fertile  land  in  China; 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


II 


had  fought  with,  and  then  assimilated,  all  the 
aboriginal  tribes  who  refused  to  vacate  the  rich 
plains  and  retire  into  mountain  fastnesses.  As 
early  as  forty-five  centuries  ago  marriage  was  a 
formal  and  established  custom;  various  classes  of 
ideographic  and  pictorial  writing  had  been  invented; 
the  decimal  system  of  weights  and  measures  was 
established;  the  Yellow  River  had  been  dyked; 
irrigation  and  canalising  were  thoroughly  under- 
stood — a wonderful  achievement.  At  least  ten 
centuries  ^ before  Christ,  the  Emperor,  who  in  the 
first  instance  must  have  been  strongly  similar  to  the 
Biblical  Shepherd  Kings,  had  so  increased  his 
power  and  position,  owing  to  the  growth  of  wealth 
and  comfort  among  his  people,  that  an  Imperial 

harem  furnished  with  fair  ^women  and  sexless 
eunuchs  became  a regal  necessity.  The  population 
was  already  counted  by  millions,  and  the  Empire 

was  composed  of  a number  of  consolidated  pro- 

vinces with  many  border  commands  in  the  hands 
of  ambitious  generals,  which  sometimes  developed 
into  feudal  States,  onfy  subdued  after  decades  of 

warfare.  Confucius,  living  six  centuries  before  the 
birth  of  Christ,  already  bewails  the  good  old  times 
of  the  Emperors  Yao  and  Shun,  who  had  ruled 
fifteen  centuries  previous  to  his  days  and  had 
established  the  principle  of  hereditary  dynasties. 

By  the  time  of  the  Han,  at  least  two  thousand 
years  ago,  a great  renaissance  in  literature  and  the 
arts  of  peace  had  come  and  gone;  the  principle  of 
competitive  examinations  had  been  formally  acknow- 


12 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


ledged;  commercial  relations  with  the  Roman  Em- 
pire had  been  entered  into,  and  tribute-bearers 
traversed  the  lonely  steppe  of  Central  Asia,  carrying 
the  humble  offerings  of  rulers,  in  whose  conception  of 
things  the  Dragon  Throne  loomed  up  great  and 
awe-inspiring.  During  the  rule  of  the  Tangs  Korea 
became  a possession  of  China;  Persia  solicited  aid 
from  the  Middle  Kingdom;  Chinese  armies  pushed 
into  Tonkin  and  Siam.  Cannon  throwing  twelve- 
pound  stone  balls  were  then  in  common  use. 
Every  art  and  industry  was  perfectly  understood 
and  by  the  year  a.d.  8oo  and  900,  while  Europe 
was  still  in  its  Dark  Ages,  China  had  reached  its 
maximum  development. 

The  rich  and  powerful  Empire  of  China  had 
already  attracted  the  attention  of  marauding  bands 
from  beyond  the  northern  passes  as  early  as  the  third 
century  before  Christ.  Chi-Huang-ti,  who  set  whole 
provinces  to  work  on  the  construction  of  the  Great 
Wall,  was  actuated  by  no  other  feelings  than  those 
of  fear.  From  the  top  of  the  mountain  passes  which 
lead  from  the  Manchurian  and  Mongolian  steppes, 
Tartar  bands  mounted  on  hardy  ponies  had  gazed 
down  on  the  fertile  fields  and,  seized  with  uncontrol- 
lable desire,  had  wildly  careered  forward,  looting  and 
killing.  Chi-Huang-ti  had  seen  and  understood 
what  this  meant.  Unless  solid  barriers  were  inter- 
posed between  the  barbarians  of  the  north  and  the 
settled  Chinese  provinces,  savage  hordes  would  con- 
tinue to  appear  in  ever  increasing  numbers  until  a 
point  was  reached  when  effective  resistance  would 


The  Mountainous  Frontiers  of  Northern  China. 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


13 


be  out  of  the  question.  Inspired  with  these  thoughts 
he  commenced  the  construction  of  the  first  Great 
Wall  in  the  third  century  before  Christ,  and  the  work 
continued  intermittently  until  a.d.  1547.  On  this 
date,  during-  the  Ming  Dynasty,  the  last  touches 
were  put  to  the  gigantic  construction,  and  a work 
considerably  over  three  thousand  miles  in  length, 
and  looped  and  doubled  in  many  places  for  hundreds 
of  miles,  stretched  from  the  sea  at  Shanhaikwan 
to  the  uttermost  limits  of  Chinese  cultivation  in 
Kansu. 

The  work  was  in  vain.  At  a time  so  remote  that 
they  do  not  even  venture  to  give  the  approximate 
date,  the  Chinese  coined  a saying  whose  meaning  is 
eloquent  with  a natural-born  fear.  It  is,  ‘^Do  not 
fear  the  cock  from  the  south,  but  the  wolf  from  the 
north.'’ 

For  ten  centuries  the  North  sought  in  vain  to 
burst  through  the  artificial  barriers  built  by  the 
diligent  Chinese.  Sometimes  isolated  bands  suc- 
ceeded in  evading  the  , vigilance  of  the  sentries, 
and  burst  through  the  northern  passes  and  mighty 
iron-clamped  gates  of  the  Great  Wall.  Then  the 
gates  were  closed  behind  them ; signal  fires  were 
lighted  on  every  mountain  peak ; Chinese  armies 
advanced  hastily,  and  a horrible  death  overtook  the 
daring  marauders. 

This  strange  border  warfare  continued  for  cen- 
turies. The  marauding  Tartar  tribes,  flung  back 
from  China,  sought  other  outlets.  Had  China  been 
more  vulnerable,  it  is  possible  that  the  greatest 


14 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


Hunnish  invasions  of  the  fifth  century  would  have 
moved  south-east,  instead  of  west  into  Europe. 

It  was  not  until  the  tenth  century  that  these 
Tartar  Manchurian-Mongolian  hordes  became  strong 
enough  to  break  through  the  ancient  Chinese 
defences.  In  that  century  the  Khetans,  a hardy 
race,  after  many  decades  of  raids  against  the  Chinese, 
completely  broke  down  the  defences  of  the  Great 
Wall,  poured  through  the  many  passes  and  bastioned 
gateways,  and  summarily  ejected  from  Peking  the 
last  Chinese  dynasty  we  have  noticed  — that  of  the 
Sung.  Under  the  style  of  the  Liao  or  Iron  Dynasty, 
the  Khetan  Tartars  firmly  established  their  rule  as 
far  south  as  the  Yangtsze,  incorporating  therefore  all 
the  oldest  parts  of  China  within  their  realm.  The 
Sung  retired  to  the  Yangtsze  and,  finding  themselves 
quite  unable  to  cope  with  the  ever  advancing  tide  of 
Tartarism,  invited  the  co-operation  of  the  Kins,  a 
warlike  race  of  Tunguzian  nomads  whose  habitat 
was  the  north-eastern  part  of  Manchuria.  The  latter, 
hurling  themselves  against  the  rear  of  the  Khetans, 
succeeded  in  finally  displacing  them  from  Peking, 
and  in  due  course,  putting  aside  their  former  pro- 
testations of  friendship  for  the  Chinese  claimants, 
they  were  pleased  to  found  the  second  Tartar 
Dynasty  in  Peking,  that  of  the  Chhn,  or  Golden 
Dynasty.  Of  their  rule  definite  records  exist  for 
i8o  years  from  a.d.  1115  to  1294. 

The  lust  which  these  Tartar  successes  aroused  in 
the  breasts  of  all  the  marauding  tribes  of  Mongolia 
soon  showed  itself.  The  Mongol  tribes  dwelling 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


15 


west  of  the  Hsing-an  mountains  began  a frontier 
warfare  against  the  Tartar  Kins,  now  firmly  estab- 
lished in  Northern  China.  It  was,  however,  not  till 
the  Kins  had  their  strength  considerably  sapped  by 
decades  of  unaccustomed  Chinese  luxury  that  they 
began  to  weaken.  Then  as  the  Mongols  moved 
south  from  the  deserts  with  irresistible  force  under 
the  leadership  of  Genghiz  Khan,  the  Kins  collapsed 
and  fled,  and  Genghiz,  unable  to  satisfy  his  earth- 
hunger  in  China  alone,  swept  west  with  his  many 
lieutenants,  and  carried  the  Banners  of  the  Golden 
Horde  into  Hindustan,  Persia,  and  Russia.  It  was 
the  reputed  grandson  of  the  great  Genghiz,  Kublai 
Khan,  who  founded  in  1275  the  third  Tartar 
Dynasty,  that  of  the  Yuan.  The  Tartar  City  was 
built  on  to  the  then  existing  Peking,  (4vith  its  mighty 
walls,  its  fortified  palaces  and  barbaric  magnificent 
distances ; and  Peking  became  definitely  synony- 
mous with  the  iron  spear-head  fitted  on  to  the  Chinese 
staff.  The  Mongols,  although  they  had  driven 
the  last  Chinese  pretenders  to  the  throne  into  the 
sea  near  Hongkong,  endured  for  less  than  a century. 
China  and  the  Chinese  were  willing  to  be  dominated 
so  long  as  the  literature  and  learning  were  left  un- 
touched. The  Mongols,  however,  sated  with  plea- 
sures and  made  overbearing  with  conceit,  com- 
menced a policy  which  meant  their  ruin.  Mongols 
who  had  no  learning  or  literary  distinction  whatso- 
ever were  put  in  office  everywhere,  and  a simmering 
Chinese  rebellion  began  south  of  the  Yangtsze.  It 
was  fanned  into  flames  by  fresh  acts  of  the  highest 


i6 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


indiscretion,  and  finally  when  an  unfrocked  Buddhist 
priest,  who  had  set  himself  at  the  head  of  the  rebels, 
succeeded  in  expelling  the  Mongol  soldiery  from 
Nanking,  the  Tartar  hold  was  temporarily  broken. 
In  1368  the  rebel  leader  Hung-wu  proclaimed  him- 
self Emperor  of  the  last  Chinese  dynasty  which  has 
reigned  in  China,  and  although  many  years  elapsed 
before  the  Mongols  were  driven  beyond  the  Great 
Wall,  the  Ming  Dynasty  succeeded  in  consolidating 
its  power  for  a brief  space  by  fostering  literature  and 
the  fine  arts,  and  by  reviving  interest  in  the  decaying 
national  life.  The  first  of  the  Mings  gave  promise 
that  his  house  was  to  be  long-lived.  In  1399 
Hung-wu,  the  founder,  died. 

But  although  the  Mings  had  succeeded  in  break- 
ing the  Mongol  hold  on  China  and  were  devoting 
themselves  assiduously  to  magnificent  literary  works 
destined  to  make  their  rule  ever  famous,  the  northern 
terror  was  always  on  the  northern  frontiers.  In 
1403  Hung-wu’s  successor  ventured  to  move  the 
capital  from  Nanking  back  to  Peking.  In  1428  a 
huge  horde  of  Mongol  horsemen  poured  over  the 
frontier.  A hundred  thousand  Chinese  soldiers  were 
killed  in  battle,  and  the  Ming  Emperor,  Cheng-t’ung, 
ignominiously  captured  and  carried  off.  In  this 
fashion  for  many  decades  the  northern  hordes 
battled,  but  although  they  were  successful  in  iso- 
lated combats,  the  great  mass  of  the  Chinese  nation 
was  now  too  bulky  and  too  homogeneous  to  be 
lightly  enslaved. 

It  was  not  until  another  century  and  a half  that  an 


Mongols  and  Northern  Chinese  in  Winter  Sheepskins. 


Yl^ace page  i6,  V’ol  I. 


A Water  Gate  leading  into  a City. 


•) 


W- 


i" 


t 


V 


/ 


» 


<i 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


17 


event  occurred  which  was  destined  to  demonstrate 
finally  to  all  that  the  North  was  the  master  of  China. 
In  1559  Nurhachu,  the  great  Manchu  leader,  was 
born  in  a mountain  village  one  hundred  miles  north- 
east of  Moukden.  In  1591,  being  readily  credited 
with  miraculous  powers  by  his  Manchu  countrymen, 
he  had  consolidated  a great  portion  of  wild  Man- 
churia under  his -rule  and  had  begun  to  war  against 
the  Chinese-settled  districts  of  the  Liaotung.  By 
1620,  after  two  decades  of  desultory  warfare,  Mouk- 
den fell  into  Nurhachu ’s  hands  and  shortly  afterwards 
became  the  first  great  Manchu  capital.  Gradually, 
the  rest  of  Manchuria  right  up  to  the  Great  Wall  at 
Shanhaikwan  acknowledged  the  Manchu  sway;  but 
the  Chinese  realising  that  once  the  Tartar  hordes 
had  streamed  through  the  fortified  gates  the  fate  of 
China  would  be  sealed,  resisted  all  attempts  with  the 
energy  of  despair.  After  four  years  of  frantic  assaults 
on  the  Great  Wall  and  the  fortified  frontier  cities  of 
Pechili,  Nurhachu  retired  unable  to  accomplish  his 
task.  In  1627  he  died,  and  a son  of  his,  Tai-tsung, 
proclaimed  the  second  Emperor  of  the  Manchu  throne 
at  Moukden,  took  up  the  work  where  his  father  had 
left  it  off.  The  Chinese  forces,  impregnably  in- 
trenched from  Shanhaikwan  to  Ningyuan,  shattered 
every  attack  and  forced  Tai-tsung  to  attempt  other 
means.  Allying  himself  with  the  descendants  of  the 
great  Genghiz,  the  Khorchin  Mongols  of  Eastern 
Mongolia,  he  swept  west  and  descended  from  the 
wilds  into  the  Chinese  provinces  through  the  western 
passes.  In  spite  of  this,  and  the  fact  that  Peking 

VOL.  I — C 


i8 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


was  actually  reached  and  besieged  by  the  Manchu 
and  Mongol  invaders,  these  could  not  maintain  them- 
selves at  such  a great  distance  from  their  bases 
whilst  the  Chinese  armies  stood  firm  on  the  hilly 
shores  facing  the  sea  at  Shanhaikwan.  Tai-tsung 
battered  his  Banner  Corps  to  pieces  against  the  rock- 
like Chinese  resistance  and  died  broken-hearted.  A 
third  Manchu  Prince,  a boy  of  five,  ascended  the 
Moukden  throne,  and  the  Regent,  Prince  Dorgun, 
made  active  preparations  to  continue  a warfare  which 
had  now  lasted  half  a century.  But  events  had 
occurred  which  rendered  further  efforts  hardly  neces- 
sary. Rebel  bands  in  China  proper  had  become 

more  and  more  daring  owing  to  the  disorganised 
state  of  the  country.  Amalgamating  their  forces, 

they  marched  from  Central  China  under  a single 
rebel  chief  to  Peking.  In  due  course  Peking  was 

captured,  the  last  of  the  Mings  committed  suicide, 
and  the  Chinese  generals  in  charge  of  the  frontier 
defences,  seeing  that  it  was  no  longer  the  Manchus 
who  were  their  greatest  foes,  but  disorders  from 
within,  formed  a coalition  with  the  Manchu  forces 
and  marched  to  the  relief  of  Peking.  The  rebel- 
dynasty  which  had  been  already  proclaimed  was 
soon  destroyed,  order  was  restored ; and  at  the 

crucial  moment,  with  tens  of  thousands  of  Manchu 
and  Mongol  re-inforcements  pouring  in  to  his  assist- 
ance, Prince  Dorgun  proclaimed  his  youthful  charge, 
Shun-chih,  the  first  Manchu  Emperor  of  the  Dragon 
Throne  under  the  style  of  Ta  Chhng  Ch^ao  or  Great 
Pure  Dynasty.  China  resisted  for  many  years,  but 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


19 


the  Manchus,  in  firm  possession  of  Peking  and  the 
Northern  Provinces,  were  able  to  pour  mobile 
columns  of  Tartar  cavalry  all  over  China,  and  within 
two  decades  the  eighteen  provinces  were  completely 
subdued.  Dating  from  1644,  or  two  hundred  and 
sixty  years  ago,  the  Manchu  Dynasty  has  been  the 
most  successful  of  the  four  Tartar  dynasties  that 
have  sat  on  the  throne  of  China  during  the  past 
centuries.  The  North  had  at  last  asserted  itself 
definitely,  irresistibly,  and  irrevocably. 

It  is  time  to  glance  at  the  third  movement,  des- 
tined to  exercise  such  a vast  influence  on  the  other 
two  factors  — the  supremacy  of  the  Chinese  in  peace- 
ful pursuits  and  the  ascendancy  of  the  Untamed 
North  in  energetic  rule.  The  European,  journeying 
daringly  in  cockle-shell  craft  from  his  far-away  home, 
was  already  peering  more  than  curiously  at  the 
Chinese  giant,  and  his  looks  immediately  filled  the 
Tartar  rulers  with  ill-concealed  fear. 


3.  The  European  Appears 

It  was  during  the  thirteenth  century  that  the  first 
white  man  of  whom  there  is  definite  record  reached 
far-off  Cathay.  Marco  Polo,  the  daring  and  brilliant 
young  Venetian,  journeying  fearlessly  towards  the 
Rising  Sun,  arrived  in  China  whilst  the  Tartar 
rule  of  the  Mongol  Yuan  Dynasty  was  in  all  its 
glory.  Kublai  Khan,  Genghiz  Khan’s  successor, 
who  welded  vast  China  into  a Mongol  Empire, 


20 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


was  pleased  to  welcome  the  Venetian  with  every 
courtesy  and  attention.  Marco  Polo  is  astounded  at 
the  magnificence  and  princely  splendour  of  the  great 
Khan’s  Court;  the  costly  silks,  the  gold  and  silver, 
the  brilliant  horsemen,  the  richly  coloured  tents  — for 
Kublai  Khan  was  still  engaged  in  active  warfare 
with  his  many  enemies,  and  had  not  yet  forsaken  his 
tents  for  walled  cities,  more  fatal  to  the  Tartar  than 
a hundred  battles.  Marco  Polo  so  distinguishes 
himself  that  he  rises  to  the  proud  position  of 
Governor  of  a Chinese  city  and  its  surrounding 
districts  — the  governorship  of  Yangchow.  He  also 
journeys  everywhere  from  one  end  of  the  Empire  to 
the  other  until  it  is  evident  from  his  eloquent  writ- 
ings that  China  in  the  thirteenth  century,  even  with 
the  heavy  hand  of  the  Tartar  dynasty  pressing  down 
the  people,  and  arresting  development,  is  far  ahead 
of  Europe.  The  noble  and  magnificent  city  of 
Hangchow  has  no  equal  in  the  whole  western  world. 
The  costly  garments  of  Oriental  workmanship  are 
something  undreamed  of  in  Europe.  Marco  Polo, 
the  harbinger  of  the  white  invasion,  comes,  wonders, 
and  admires  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  after  a 
residence  of  seventeen  years  in  China  takes  ship  for 
his  westward  journey,  and  passes  away  in  1292  as 
the  fit  escort  of-  a Mongol  princess  who  goes  to  wed 
the  Khan  of  Persia.  In  those  early  and  magnificent 
days  there  was  no  fear  of  the  foreigner. 

It  was  not  until  one  hundred  and  twenty  years 
had  passed  and  the  Chinese  dynasty  of  the  Ming 
occupied  the  Dragon  Throne  that  the  white  man 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


21 


was  heard  of  again.  In  15  ii  the  Portuguese,  at  the 
height  of  their  reputation  as  intrepid  navigators, 
under  the  command  of  one  Raphael  Perestralo,  cast 
anchor  off  the  southern  coast  of  China,  found  out  all 
there  was  to.  discover  about  this  far-off  land  of 
Cathay,  and  turned  ’bout  ship  for  the  Indies. 

Six  years  later  Don  d’Andrade  presented  himself 
at  Canton  at  the  head  of  a respectable  Portuguese 
squadron,  landed,  was  well  treated,  and  proceeded  on 
an  unofficial  mission  to  Peking,  where  he  was  pleased 
to  reside  for  some  years.  The  Portuguese  on  the 
southern  coast,  reinforced  by  other  ships,  established 
themselves  as  traders.  Seized  by  an  uncontrol- 
lable desire  to  accumulate  a portion  of  this  vast 
Chinese  wealth,  the  result  of  thirty  centuries  of 
peaceable  development,  they  resorted  to  nefarious 
acts  which  immediately  led  the  Chinese  to  reprisals. 
D’Andrade  was  imprisoned  and  subsequently  be- 
headed. At  Foochow  and  Ningpo,  where  the 
Portuguese  traders  were  already  becoming  power- 
ful, wholesale  massacres  were  ordered  by  Chinese 
officials.  Finally,  after  much  filibustering  and  end- 
less negotiations,  the  Portuguese  were  allowed  in 
1558  to  settle  at  Macao  on  a peninsular  strip  of  land 
a few  dozen  miles  from  Canton,  and  thus  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  Chinese  was  placed  on  a firm 
basis  as  early  as  three  and  a half  centuries  ago. 

As  time  went  on  the  number  of  new  comers 
increased.  Already  the  missionary  Xavier  had 

appeared,  and,  being  refused  permission  to  put  his 
foot  on  the  Chinese  mainland,  died  within  sight  of 


22 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


his  goal  in  1552.  In  1582  the  great  Ricci  arrived 
in  Macao  and  was  permitted  to  proceed  to  Peking, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1610. 

Meanwhile  the  Spaniards  had  arrived  in  the 
Philippines  towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. In  1628  Schall  and  a band  of  Jesuit  mission- 
aries made  their  way  to  Peking  and  delighted  the 
Ming  Emperor  Wan-li  with  their  mechanical  skill 
and  their  wide  unprejudiced  learning.  Schall  was 
made  Astronomer  Royal  and  deputed  to  arrange  the 
Imperial  Calendar.  His  colleagues  were  appointed 
to  minor  offices  and  overcame  all  opposition.  The 
Chinese  Mings,  although  the  conduct  of  the  Portu- 
guese in  Southern  China  had  shown  clearly  that 
violence  would  be  at  once  resorted  to  unless  their 
demands  were  complied  with,  were  still  moderate 
and  conciliatory  in  their  treatment  of  the  white  man. 
Other  influences,  however,  were  already  at  work. 
The  Spaniards  had  massacred  many  thousands  of 
Chinese  whom  they  found  inconvenient  in  the  Phil- 
ippines. European  trading  ships  dominated  the 
southern  coast  and  were  disturbing  the  peace  of  the 
territorial  officials;  the  fear  of  the  foreigner,  although 
it  had  not  yet  reached  the  North,  was  already,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  after  a few 
short  decades  of  desultory  intercourse,  spreading 
slowly  but  surely  from  the  southern  coast-line  into 
the  heart  of  the  Chinese  people. 

In  1644  the  Manchus  had  finally  succeeded  in 
seating  themselves  on  the  Peking  throne.  For 

many  years  there  was  not  much  time  to  pay 


Manchu  Ladies  in  their  Best. 


/T'-' 


Tif- 


s 


V 


( 


4' 


A 


I 


( 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


23 


attention  to  the  mysterious  foreigner ; China  was 
torn  by  rebellions  and  seething  like  a cauldron. 
The  Mings,  making  the  most  desperate  efforts  to 
resist  the  Manchu  advance,  encouraged  rebellion 
everywhere,  and  for  at  least  fifteen  years  there  was 
the  most  savage  fighting.  Hardly  had  this  ceased 
when  events  occurred  which  at  once  irritated  the 
newly  established  Manchu  rulers.  The  Jesuits  and 
the  Dominicans,  now  firmly  established  in  Peking, 
were  unable  to  agree  on  many  points,  such  as  the 
worship  of  ancestors  and  Confucius,  and  the  correct 
term  to  use  for  God.  . . . After  endless  discussions 
the  questions  were  referred  to  both  the  Pope  and 
the  Manchu  Emperor.  Each  gave  a different 
verdict.  The  Jesuits,  although  anxious  to  follow 
the  Manchu  ruling,  could  not  openly  refuse  to 
accept  the  decisions  of  the  Holy  See.  They  were 
compelled  to  obey,  and  the  Manchus,  incensed  at 
this  setting  up  of  an  outside  authority  when  their 
own  was  none  too  strong  over  the  unwieldy  eighteen 
provinces,  became  at  once  more  hostile.  Other 
dangers  were  also  appearing  on  the  horizon  line. 
Dutch  ships  were  casting  anchor  in  the  southern 
harbours,  the  Portuguese  were  becoming  more  and 
more  enterprising  and  were  openly  siding  with  and 
arming  the  rebel  fleets  against  the  Manchus ; 
Catholic  Fathers  were  penetrating  into  the 
provinces ; Cossack  marauders  were  harrying  the 
Amur  regions;  Mongol  tribes  who  had  co-operated 
in  the  conquest  of  China  were  becoming  restive. 
Thus  when,  twelve  years  after  Shun  Chih  had  come 


24 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


to  the  Peking  throne,  two  European  embassies 
arrived  in  the  northern  capital,  they  were  un- 
graciously received.  The  first,  the  Dutch 
Ambassador,  who  had  come  by  sea,  represented  the 
element  which  has  always  been  a stumbling-block 
to  all  Tartar  peoples;  since  even  then  the  Manchus 
could  not  extend  their  authority  on  the  green 
waters.  The  second,  the  Muscovite  Ambassador, 
conjured  up  visions  of  the  Cossack  marauders 
floating  down  the  Amur  in  their  flat-bottomed  boats 
and  firing  on  and  killing  Manchu  horsemen  sent  to 
collect  tribute  from  savage  tribes  who  as  yet  owned 
their  allegiance  to  no  one.  The  Ambassadors  were 
summarily  ordered  to  prostrate  themselves  on  the 
ground  before  the  august  Presence  of  a Manchu 
potentate.  The  Dutchman  complied,  and  as  a 
result  was  graciously  permitted  to  send  ships  to 
China  once  every  eight  years  under  extraordinary 
restrictions.  The  Russian,  who  haughtily  refused  to 
do  more  than  bend  his  knee  to  any  man,  was  dis- 
missed. Thus  ended  the  first  embassies,  and  in 
this  manner  did  the  Manchu  Dynasty  attempt  to 
shut  themselves  and  their  newly  acquired  Empire 
off  from  the  outside  world  — a policy  vain  and  short- 
sighted. 

The  Manchus,  with  many  centuries  of  history 
before  them,  early  realised  that,  unless  they  exer- 
cised something  more  than  a military  hold  on  the 
country  they  had  successfully  captured,  they  would 
be  unable  to  maintain  themselves  beyond  the  dura- 
tion of  supreme  military  efficiency.  The  Chinese 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


25 


Government  system  was  therefore  accepted  by  them 
just  as  it  was,  and  they  contented  themselves  with 
distributing  a number  of  strong  Tartar  Generals’ 
commands  at  strategic  and  commercially  important 
points  over  the  Empire,  and  insisting  on  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Manchu  queue  and  dress.  Apart  from 
these  two  things,  and  the  fact  that  they  massed  the 
bulk  of  the  eight  great  Banner  Corps,  numbering 
several  hundred  thousand  men,  in  Peking  and  its 
environs,  they  did  nothing  to  disturb  the  general 
conditions  they  had  found  on  entering  the  country. 
In  a few  decades,  therefore,  the  Manchu  regime  was 
accepted  by  all  as  inevitable,  and  the  last  Tartar 
conquest  soon  became  a mere  memory. 

It  was  whilst  things  were  in  this  stage  that  the 
Russians  made  that  series  of  efforts  along  the  Amur 
which  culminated  in  the  disastrous  Nerchinsk  treaty 
— a treaty  that  effectively  asserted  Manchu  claims 
over  a vast  tract  of  country  which  was  not  histori- 
cally or  geographically  a portion  of  Manchuria. 
The  Manchus  when  they  forced  the  signature  of 
the  Nerchinsk  Instrument  on  the  Russian  plenipo- 
tentiary were  at  the  height  of  their  power.  The 
great  emperor  K’ang-hsi  had  succeeded  the  first 
Manchu  sovereign  in  1661.  No  sooner  had  he 
reached  manhood  than  he  began  to  deal  energeti- 
cally with  all  movements  which  menaced  the  peace 
of  his  extensive  empire.  Rebellious  Tartar  tribes 
were  defeated  again  and  again  in  the  uttermost 
western  confines  of  Mongolia  and  forced  to  tender 
their  submission.  Big  Manchu  armies  drove  the 


26 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


Russians  from  the  Amur  and  burnt  their  outpost  town, 
Albazin;  the  growing  sailing  ship  trade  in  the  south 
was  closely  overseen;  the  foreigner  was  given  to  un- 
derstand that  he  was  in  the  Far  East  by  sufferance 
alone  and  that  he  could  not  overstep  a certain  limit. 
In  1689  the  Nerchinsk  Treaty  was  signed  and 
Russia  acknowledged  herself  beaten.  The  Manchus, 
convinced  that  energy  and  an  uncompromising 
attitude  would  henceforth  solve  the  now  menacing 
European  question,  adopted  a policy  which  has  been 
carefully  preserved  until  the  present  day.  But  it  is 
time  to  see  how  the  influences  in  the  south  coming 
by  the  sea  route  were  steadily  and  methodically 
at  work. 

The  Portuguese,  who  were  the  pioneers  of  the 
southern  shipping  commerce,  were  seen  to  have 
powerful  competitors.  As  early  as  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  an  expedition  had  sailed  from 
England  in  a vain  attempt  to  open  up  trading  rela- 
tions with  the  Celestial  Empire.  It  was  not  until 
1635  that  the  first  English  ships  appeared  in  the 
Canton  River  with  a charter  from  Charles  I.  as 
their  authority.  In  that  year  Captain  Weddell,  in 
command  of  a small  trading  fleet,  reached  Macao 
and  begged  the  help  of  the  Portuguese  in  the 
matter  of  opening  up  relations  with  the  native 
officials.  The  Portuguese,  alarmed  at  the  appear- 
ance of  these  unwelcome  competitors,  offered  every 
kind  of  obstruction,  while  outwardly  maintaining  a 
friendly  attitude;  the  Chinese  mandarinate  were  no 
less  hostile.  Good  Master  Weddell  stood  it  as  long 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


27 


as  he  could,  but  at  last  determined  to  gain  Canton 
and  see  what  personal  influence  would  do.  On  his 
way  up  the  Canton  River  his  boats  were  fired  on  by 
the  Bogue  forts,  a group  of  mud  fortifications  com- 
manding the  waterway.  Without  a minute’s  hesi- 
tation he  halted  his  boats,  turned  his  sailing  ships 
into  line  o’  battle,  and  with  a red  danger  flag 
apprising  all  of  what  was  about  to  happen,  opened 
a heavy  fire  from  the  brass  ship  cannon.  The 
Chinese  fire  was  silenced.  Weddell  landed  a 
storming  party,  took  possession  of  the  forts,  and 
hoisted  the  British  colours  over  them.  It  is  on 
reading  of  little  incidents  like  these  that  the  pre- 
dominance of  British  trade  becomes  comprehensible. 
After  these  acts  the  right  to  trade  was  granted  to 
the  English  company.  For  a number  of  years 
Canton,  Amoy,  and  Ningpo  were  visited ; but  in 
1681  it  was  decided  to  deal  only  with  Canton,  and 
in  that  year  a large  factory  was  established. 

The  Canton  factory  days  are  full  of  pleasant  fight- 
ing. The  Chinese  territorial  influences  in  the  south, 
which  was  untouched  by  the  Manchu  conquest, 
looked  upon  the  taxation  of  the  growing  foreign 
shipping  trade  as  one  of  those  delectable  things 
permitted  to  exist  by  a kind  heaven  as  a reward  for 
the  trials  of  this  life.  The  trade  was  therefore 
squeezed  like  a lemon  full  of  juice.  There  is  not 
much  of  great  interest  to  note  as  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries  are  struggled  through.  In 
1735,  on  the  Emperor  Ch’ien  Lung’s  accession,  it  was 
noted  that  ten  foreign  trading  ships  were  swinging 


28 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


in  the  Canton  River  — they  were  never  before  so 
numerous.  In  1742,  His  Majesty’s  ship  Centurion, 
commanded  by  Commodore  Anson,  made  its  appear- 
ance in  the  China  seas  — the  first  British  man-of-war 
to  visit  a China  port.  In  1759,  in  (Consequence  of 
fresh  English  attempts  to  open  up  trade  with 
Ningpo,  an  English  merchant  was  deported  by  the 
Chinese  officials  to  Macao  and  ordered  to  return 
home.  In  1754  a British  gunner  who  accidentally 
killed  a Chinaman  was  seized  by  trickery  and  sum- 
marily strangled.  Sharp  struggles  between  the 
lusty  seafaring  Englishmen  of  the  eighteenth  century 
and  the  overbearing  minions  of  the  Chinese  official- 
dom fill  the  chronicles  and  denote  the  highly 
unsatisfactory  state  of  affairs. 

At  length  in  1788,  after  a lapse  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty-three  years  of  this  strangely  conducted 
commerce,  the  British  Government  decided  on  action. 
A Colonel  Cathcart  was  appointed  ambassador,  but 
died  before  he  reached  China.  Finally,  four  years 
later.  Lord  Macartney  left  England,  with  many 
presents  from  George  the  Third  to  be  offered  to  the 
aged  Ch’ien  Lung  as  tokens  of  England’s  esteem. 
The  number  and  magnificence  of  these  royal  offer- 
ings may  be  gauged  from  the  fact  that  ninety 
waggons,  forty  barrows,  two  hundred  horses,  and 
three  thousand  men  were  employed  to  carry  them 
into  Peking.  After  many  weeks  of  negotiations  and 
entertainments,  and  a number  of  Imperial  Audiences, 
Lord  Macartney  was  forced  to  leave  the  Emperor’s 
Court  and  Peking  without  having  obtained  any 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


29 


satisfactory  commercial  privilege,  except  a direct 
recognition  from  the  throne  of  the  status  of  the. 
English  traders  at  Canton. 

The  great  Emperor  Ch’ien  Lung  was  then  at  the 
zenith  of  his  power.  From  the  northernmost  steppes 
of  Mongolia  to  Cochin  China,  and  from  the  China 
seas  as  far  west  as  Nepaul  and  Turkestan,  Chinese 
armies,  led  and  officered  by  Manchus,  had  fought 
and  conquered.  Under  such  circumstances  it 
required  more  than  a splendidly  appointed  embassy 
to  convince  the  Manchu  sovereigns  that  the  call  at 
the  southern  ports  was  soon  to  become  imperative. 
In  the  northern  Amur  regions  the  Russians  had  long 
ago  disappeared.  Portuguese  and  Dutch,  Spaniards 
and  French  adventurers  in  the  south,  were  no  longer 
of  any  consequence ; it  was  England  that  still 
pressed  forward  with  greater  numbers  of  ships  every 
year  assembling  at  Canton,  and  in  spite  of  a severe 
prohibition  attempting  to  open  the  closed  doors  of 
other  Chinese  trading  centres.  Henceforth  the 
story  of  European  expansion  in  China  is  merely 
the  story  of  England. 

The  eighteenth  century  passed  into  the  nineteenth, 
and  the  disintegrating  forces  which  were  only  await- 
ing the  j removal  of  Ch’ien  Lung’s  powerful 
personality  soon  began  to  show  themselves  unmis- 
takably under  the  weaker  rule  of  his  successor. 
Chia-ch’ing,  a son  of  Ch’ien  Lung,  came  to  the 
throne  in  1796  on  his  father’s  abdication.  In  the 
years  immediately  succeeding  Chia-ch’ing’s  accession 
to  the  throne,  the  first  of  the  great  rebellions  which 


30 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


were  to  shake  the  whole  of  China  during  the 
nineteenth  century  broke  out  in  Honan,  Shensi, 
Kansu,  and  Szechuen.  The  struggle  lasted  many 
years,  for  the  White  Lily”  sect  which  had  been 
the  first  to  raise  the  standard  of  revolt  included  all 
the  renegades  of  the  northern  provinces.  Two 
direct  attempts  were  made  to  assassinate  Chia-chfing, 
and  the  Formosan  pirate  pest,  which  had  been 
allowed  to  grow  unchecked  until  the  Chinese 
Imperial  authorities  were  unable  to  cope  with  it, 
made  it  necessary  for  the  East  India  merchantmen 
in  the  southern  seas  frequently  to  have  recourse  to 
a pitched  battle. 

Matters  had  continued  in  this  unsatisfactory  state 
for  a number  of  years  when  George  the  Third 
decided  to  renew  the  negotiations  which  had  been 
so  fruitless  under  Lord  Macartney’s  mission.  In 
i8i6,  twenty-eight  years  since  Macartney  had 
greeted  Ch’ien  Lung,  Lord  Amherst,  a diplomatist 
who  had  earned  a European  reputation,  started  on 
his  memorable  voyage.  The  results  were  even 
more  disastrous  and  irritating  than  anyone  would 
have  supposed  possible.  Lord  Amherst  was  so 
grossly  ill-treated  by  the  Chinese  Ministers  of  State 
after  he  had  actually  reached  the  precincts  of  the 
Imperial  Palace  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
accept  the  insults,  and  he  returned  to  England 
without  any  success  whatsoever.  In  1820  Chia- 
ch’ing  died  and  was  succeeded  by  Taokwang, 
a son  of  his  who  had  saved  his  life  on  the  occasion 
of  one  of  the  attempted  assassinations.  Taokwang 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


31 


was  no  less  unlucky  than  his  predecessor  Chia-ch’ing. 
The  Manchus  had  indeed,  with  subtle  cunning, 
endeavoured  to  secure  their  power  against  the 
accusation,  levelled  against  the  other  Tartar  dynasties, 
of  substituting  harsh  militarism  for  the  true  Chinese 
system  of  Government.  They  had  attempted  an 
equipoise  by  attaching  crucial  importance  to  literary 
distinction  in  considering  men  for  employment. 
Yet  they  had  not  succeeded  in  their  task.  Fresh 
rebellions  broke  out  in  Kashgaria,  in  Formosa,  and 
in  Hainan,  which  were  only  subdued  by  mere  vis 
inertice  in  the  masses  of  indifferent  soldiery 
despatched  against  the  rebel  leaders.  Meanwhile 
these  absorbing  cares  had  caused  Canton  and  the 
southern  trading  question  with  its  pushing  European 
peril  to  be  almost  forgotten.  Notwithstanding  all 
the  countless  disabilities  imposed  on  the  Canton 
trade,  it  had  continued  to  grow  more  and  more ; 
numbers  of  resolute  Englishmen  came  out  in  the 
service  of  the.  East  India  Company,  and  by  the 
’thirties  ladies  and  children  appeared  on  the  scenes 
in  ever  increasing  numbers.  After  200  years  of 
vicissitudes  and  extraordinary  perils,  events  were  in 
preparation  that  were  to  have  the  most  far-reaching 
consequences.  The  second  period  of  foreign 
relations  was  at  hand. 


4.  Modern  History 

In  1834  the  trading  charter  which  had  been 
granted  by  Charles  I.  to  the  East  India  Company 


32 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


expired.  The  importance  of  the  Canton  trade, 
and  the  number  of  independent  traders  who  had 
succeeded  in  participating  in  a commerce  which 
was  theoretically  something  in  the  nature  of  a 
monopoly,  made  it  impossible  to  renew  the  Com- 
pany’s Charter.  Lord  Palmerston,  with  his  splendid 
grasp  of  foreign  affairs,  quickly  understood  that  the 
moment  had  arrived  for  a display  of  energy  which 
might  obtain  the  most  important  privileges  for 
English  merchants.  In  December  of  1833  he 
caused  instructions  to  be  drafted  for  Lord  Napier, 
the  chief  of  the  third  mission  to  China,  which  were 
explicit  and  to  the  point.  Two  sentences  condensed 
his  views  on  the  subject:  “In  addition  to  the  duty 
of  protecting  and  fostering  trade  at  Canton,  it  will 
be  one  of  your  principal  objects  to  ascertain  whether 
it  may  not  be  practicable  to  extend  that  trade  to 
other  parts  of  the  Chinese  dominions.  It  is  obvious 
that,  with  a view  to  the  attainment  of  this  object,  the 
establishment  of  direct  communication  with  the 
Court  of  Peking  would  be  most  desirable.”  Thus 
it  was  written,  and  henceforth  the  guiding  principle 
was  to  push  from  the  old-world  Canton  base 
the  great  North. 

Lord  Napier’s  arrival  at  Canton  was  the  signal 
for  a reception  so  scandalous  on  the  part  of  the 
territorial  officials  that  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
Lord  Palmerston  did  not  at  once  regard  it  as  a 
casus  belli.  The  Viceroy  at  Canton  peremptorily 
refused  even  to  receive  the  British  envoy ; issued 
the  most  insulting  proclamations  containing  a set  of 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


33 


regulations  for  the  management  of  the  outer 
barbarians’^;  and  gave  it  clearly  to  be  understood 
that  the  presence  of  English  merchants  even  in  the 
Canton  settlement  was  only  tolerated  on  sufferance. 
The  opium  question,  destined  to  lead  to  so  much 
trouble,  was  already  causing  much  anxiety  to  the 
Dragon  Throne;  and  these  things,  coupled  with  the 
fact  that  the  import  trade  had  grown  to  many 
millions  sterling,  annually  causing  an  alleged  outflow 
of  Chinese  silver  amounting  to  an  enormous  sum, 
were  sufficient  partially  to  explain  the  Chinese 
attitude. 

Before  he  had  accomplished  anything  Lord 

Napier  fell  sick  and  died  in  Macao.  The  British 
merchants  at  Canton,  foreseeing  that  it  was  impera- 
tive for  their  Government  to  act  energetically  if  the 
position  was  to  be  saved,  boldly  sent  in  a strongly 
worded  petition  to  Lord  Palmerston  asking  that  the 
Chinese  Empire  should  be  thrown  open  to  trade  at 
any  cost.  In  1836  the  British  Government  appointed 
Captain  Elliot  to  succeed  Lord  Napier.  Captain 
Elliot  arrived  in  Canton,  only  to  leave  again  for 
with  everything  at  a deadlock.  It  was 
<g  to  be  understood  that  there  could  be  only 
one  solution.  Meanwhile  the  Peking  Government 
had  appointed  a High  Commissioner  for  a last 
attempt  to  arrange  a modus  vivendi,  and  his  first 
demand  on  arriving  at  Canton  was  that  all  the 
Indian  opium  stored  in  the  foreign  factories  should 
be  surrendered  to  him.  After  much  discussion  a 
thousand  chests  were  handed  over.  The  Commis- 


VOL.  I — D 


34 


HISTORICAI.  PROLOGUE 


sioner  demanded  more,  and  Captain  Elliot  hurried 
back  to  Canton  from  Macao  to  see  what  could  be 
done.  So  threatening,  however,  was  the  Chinese 
attitude,  and  so  vulnerable  to  attack  were  the  English 
traders,  that  in  a moment  of  weakness  Captain 
Elliot  ordered  the  entire  contents  of  the  factories 
to  be  handed  over.  Upwards  of  20,000  chests, 
representing  a vast  fortune,  were  delivered  into 
Chinese  hands. 

The  Chinese  demand  had  no  sooner  been  complied 
with  than  others  more  outrageous  were  made.  By 
1839,  however,  even  British  official  patience  had 
reached  its  limit,  and  in  a sharp  engagement  at  sea, 
fought  on  the  3rd  November  of  the  same  year,  a 
number  of  war  junks  were  destroyed.  In  the 
summer  of  1841  Sir  Gordon  Bremer,  in  command 
of  a respectable  squadron,  blockaded  Canton  and 
then  sailed  up  the  coast  attacking  and  destroying 
Chinese  fortifications.  The  British  fleet  at  last 
arrived  off  Taku  Bar  and  cleared  for  action.  The 
Peking  Court  trembled,  appointed  fresh  Commis- 
sioners, and  succeeded  in  arranging  that  negotiations 
should  be  transferred  once  more  to  Canton.  After 
some  additional  trouble,  and  the  incidental  capture 
of  a few  mud  forts  on  the  Canton  River,  it  appeared 
that  a settlement  would  be  reached.  It  was  agreed 
that  the  island  of  Hongkong  should  be  ceded  to  the 
British  Crown,  that  an  indemnity  of  six  million 
dollars  should  be  paid  for  the  opium  destroyed,  and 
that  official  intercourse  should  be  conducted  between 
English  and  Chinese  officials  on  terms  of  equality. 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


35 


No  sooner  had  these  things  been  agreed  on  than  it 
became  clear  the  Chinese  only  wished  to  gain  time. 
More  Englishmen  were  captured  and  illegally 
imprisoned  by  them,  and  once  more  the  British 
fleet  moved  up  the  Canton  River  bombarding  and 
capturing  the  forts. 

Events  now  succeeded  one  another  with  be- 
wildering rapidity.  British  troops  had  arrived 
and  prepared  to  invest  Canton.  At  the  last 
moment  the  Chinese  authorities  agreed  to  every- 
thing and  succeeded  in  avoiding  the  capture  of 
the  richest  city  in  China.  Meanwhile  Sir  Henry 
Pottinger  had  been  appointed  British  Minister,  and 
Captain  Elliot  had  received  his  dismissal.  Pottin- 
ger’s  instructions  were  precise.  He  was  ordered  at 
all  costs  to  open  direct  relations  with  the  Imperial 
Court  and  force  a permanent  settlement  on  the 
Chinese  Government.  Sir  Hugh  Gough  in  com- 
mand of  a brigade  of  British  troops  was  ready  to 
support  Admiral  Sir  William  Parker’s  moves. 
Pottinger  at  once  placed  the  conduct  of  affairs  in 
Admiral  Parker’s  hands.  On  the  2nd  August,  1842,. 
he  set  sail.  Amoy  was  promptly  captured  and  a. 
British  garrison  established;  Chusan  soon  met  the 
same  fate;  Ningpo  was  reduced  and  occupied.  No' 
sooner  had  these  places  fallen  than  the  British  fleet 
entered  the  Yangtsze  River  and  began  to  deal  in  the 
same  fashion  with  the  riverine  towns.  The  Chinese 
troops  were  driven  from  the  Woosung  forts  and 
Shanghai  was  occupied.  Not  content  with  this, 
Pottinger  ordered  the  commanders  to  proceed  up  the 


36 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


Yangtsze  and  capture  Nanking  — the  ancient  capital 
of  the  empire.  As  a first  step,  Chinkiang,  seventy 
miles  lower  down  the  river  than  Nanking,  was 
occupied  after  a very  sharp  struggle.  The  British 
forces  arriving  off  Nanking  found,  however,  a 
triumvirate  of  High  Commissioners  awaiting  them, 
ready  to  agree  to  any  terms,  and  on  the  29th 
August,  1842,  a treaty  was  signed  which  immediately 
received  the  imperial  ratification.  Under  the  terms 
of  the  Treaty  of  Nanking,  Canton,  Amoy,  Foochow, 
Ningpo,  and  Shanghai  were  opened  to  foreign 
trade.  Hongkong  was  ceded  to  the  British  Crown 
in  perpetuity,  and  an  indemnity  of  $20,000,000  was 
to  be  handed  to  the  victors. 

It  seemed  at  first  as  if  the  troublous  times  which 
had  lasted  so  long  were  at  last  over,  but  the  events  of 
the  next  few  years  showed  that  sharp  blows  could 
alone  solve  a question  of  the  most  vital  importance 
to  Englishmen  and  other  Europeans.  So  far  it  had 
not  been  decided  precisely  and  definitely  who  should 
have  jurisdiction  over  Europeans  residing  at  the 
treaty  ports  of  China,  although  the  treaty  dealt  with 
the  matter  ambiguously.  In  other  words,  the  vexed 
question  of  extra-territoriality  had  yet  to  be  settled 
— and  until  it  was  definitely  settled  there  could  be 
no  peace. 

In  1843  Sir  John  Davis,  a new  British  plenipo- 
tentiary and  superintendent  of  foreign  trade, 
arrived  in  Canton,  and  he,  under  the  terms  of  the 
Nanking  Instrument,  became  at  once  the  Minister 
and  Chief  of  the  Consular  Officers  appointed  to 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


37 


reside  at  each  treaty  port  as  the  channels  of  inter- 
course between  Chinese  officialdom  and  British 
merchantmen.  A Chinese  subject,  accidentally  killed 
by  an  Englishman,  raised  the  whole  question.  Sir 
John  Davis  very  properly  declined  to  deliver  up 
the  person  of  the  Englishman  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  the  mandarins,  arguing  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
deal  with  the  case. 

The  political  atmosphere  was  still  further  dis- 
turbed by  the  outbreak  of  three  formidable  native 
rebellions.  The  Triads  in  the  south  started  a rising. 
In  Northern  China  the  White  Lily  sect  promptly 
rose  also,  and  in  distant  Kashgaria  the  Mohamme- 
dans once  more  attempted  to  throw  off  their  alle- 
giance to  the  Chinese  throne.  In  1847  the  British 
fleet  was  once  more  bombarding  the  Bogue  and 
Canton  River  forts,  and  Davis  extorted  an  agreement 
under  which  the  whole  of  Canton  city  should  be 
thrown  open  to  foreigners  without  any  restraint  what- 
soever in  two  years’  time  limit.  The  bombardment 
and  the  subsequent  concession  were  of  no  value. 
Within  a few  months  more  Englishmen  had  been 
captured  and  murdered.  The  situation  was  be- 
coming more  and  more  impossible. 

Meanwhile  the  Triads  and  the  other  kindred 
societies,  under  the  leadership  and  inspiration  of 
one  Hung  Hsin-ts’uan,  “The  heavenly  Prince  soon 
to  become  the  Heavenly  King,”  had  duly  blossomed 
forth  into  the  formidable  Taiping  rebellion,  destined 
still  further  to  complicate  an  already  complicated 
situation.  The  Taipings  swept  north  from  Kwang- 


38 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


tung,  the  province  which  gave  birth  to  them,  like 
a scourge  of  locusts,  looting  and  pillaging  — carry- 
ing fire  and  sword  everywhere  in  a manner  unheard 
of  since  the  great  Tartar  invasion.  A million 
discontents  from  every  part  of  the  country  eagerly 
joined  the  Taiping  standard.  Beaten  off  from 
Hunan,  they  headed  for  the  middle  and  lower 
Yangtsze;  Yochow,  Hankow,  and  Kiukiang  were 
taken,  and  after  a desperate  struggle  Nanking,  the 
old  southern  capital,  fell  into  the  rebels’  hands. 
Hung,  the  leader,  proclaimed  himself  the  Heavenly 
King  and  announced  himself  the  first  of  the 
Taiping  Dynasty.  In  support  of  this  new  dig- 
nity he  picturesquely  made  four  of  his  principal 
supporters  kings  of  the  North,  East,  South,  and 
West. 

In  1853  a vast  column  started  northwards  from 
Nanking  to  the  capture  of  Peking.  With  their  long 
hair  streaming  out  wildly  behind  them  — as  a protest 
against  the  Manchu  shaven  forehead  and  plaited 
queue  — with  their  painted  faces  and  huge  swords, 
they  might  well  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  all  who 
saw  them.  Without  meeting  any  serious  opposition 
the  Taiping  armies  swept  north.  In  less  than  six 
months  they  had  captured  twenty-six  important 
cities  along  the  line  of  their  advance  and  established 
themselves  within  100  miles  of  Peking.  These 
rebels  hurled  themselves  against  Tientsien  into 
which  a strong  Imperial  force  had  been  thrown,  but 
the  stout  city  walls  were  too  tough  a defence  for 
them  to  break  so  easily,  and  the  storming  parties 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


39 


suffered  such  huge  losses  that  it  was  impossible  to 
continue. 

In  this  plight  the  Taipings  began  their  retreat 
south  'with  ever  increasing  numbers  of  troops  in 
pursuit.  The  North  had  hurled  them  back  and  was 
intent  on  destroying  them,  and  after  a year’s 
absence  the  ragged  remains  of  the  Heavenly  King’s 
forces  crossed  the  Yangtsze  and  put  the  mighty  river 
between  them  and  the  Imperialists. 

These  startling  events  had  not  left  the  five  little 
English  settlements  at  Canton,  Amoy,  Foochow, 
Ningpo,  and  Shanghai  undisturbed.  In  1850  the 
weak  and  irresolute  Emperor  Taokuang  had  passed 
away,  leaving  his  distracted  country  to  his  fourth 
son,  who  adopted  the  high-sounding  epithet  of 
Hsien-feng  or  ‘‘Complete  Abundance.” 

In  1852  attention  was  still  engaged  by  the 
unfortunate  question  of  the  right  of  entry  for 
foreigners  to  the  native  city  of  Canton.  In  spite  of 
the  arrangement  which  we  have  already  noticed, 
that  the  open-door  policy  should  be  enforced  in 
1849,  the  Canton  Viceroy,  Yeh,  obstinately  refused 
to  put  the  agreement  into  operation.  Sir  John 
Bowring,  Governor  of  Hongkong  and  Super- 
intendent of  Trade,  fought  the  question  in  vain  for 
years,  and  when  the  valiant  Parkes  — afterwards  to 
show  himself  so  splendid  — was  appointed  Consul  at 
Canton  in  1856,  it  became  at  once  apparent  that 
nothing  could  save  the  situation. 

In  the  same  year  the  Arrow ^ a lorcha,  or  semi- 
native semi-foreign  sailing  ship,  was  boarded  near 


40 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


Canton  by  Chinese  officials  and  the  British  flag  torn 
down  and  trampled  underfoot.  Parkes  at  once  rose 
to  the  occasion.  He  insisted  on  an  absolute 
apology  from  the  Viceroy  and  the  surrender  of  the 
crew,  who  had  been  carried  off.  Viceroy  Yeh 
prevaricated.  Finally  it  came  to  the  usual  thing. 
Sir  John  Bowring  ordered  the  Admiral  to  act. 
The  British  naval  forces  in  the  China  seas  had 
become  so  accustomed  to  capturing  the  Canton 
River  forts  that  they  performed  the  task  with  the 
facility  characterising  a well-practised  manoeuvre. 
In  October  the  fleet  bombarded  Canton  itself  for 
the  first  time  and  a storming-party  penetrated  the 
city.  The  ships,  however,  could  not  land  sufficient 
men  to  overawe  the  capital  and  officials  of  a vast 
province;  and  Lord  Clarendon,  then  Foreign 
Secretary,  consented  to  despatch  an  expeditionary 
force  of  5,000  men,  urgently  called  for  by  Bowring 
and  Parkes. 

The  Indian  Mutiny  interrupted  the  prompt 
arrival  of  this  force,  but  Lord  Elgin  — who  had  been 
appointed  supreme  chief  in  China  — meanwhile 
arrived,  and  from  Hongkong  waged  war  as  effec- 
tively as  was  possible  with  the  small  forces  at  his 
disposal.  Desultory  fighting  took  place  all  through 
1857,  and  on  Christmas  Day  of  that  year  Elgin 
presented  an  ultimatum  to  the  Viceroy,  to  which  not 
the  slightest  attention  was  paid.  Canton  was 
stormed,  the  Viceroy  was  made  prisoner  and  sent 
to  Calcutta,  where  he  subsequently  died,  and  a 
provisional  commission  consisting  of  Parkes,  a 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


41 


Marine  officer  and  a Naval  officer,  was  appointed, 
which  administered  Canton  for  three  years.  The 
Peking  Government  still  refused  to  deal  satisfac- 
torily with  the  whole  question.  We  next  find 
Lord  Elgin  off  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho  with  his 
fleet  facing  the  ever  famous  Taku  forts.  As  even 
this  was  not  sufficient  to  convince  the  Court  that 
the  time  to  act  had  come,  the  forts  were  stormed 
and  a force  flung  forward  into  Tientsien.  The 
French,  who,  since  the  Crimean  War,  had  been 
closely  allied  to  the  British  under  the  Imperialistic 
policy  of  Napoleon  the  Third,  had  appointed  a 
Commissioner  to  accompany  the  expedition,  and 
finally  the  Chinese,  seeing  that  further  resistance 
was  useless,  agreed  to  the  Treaty  of  Tientsien. 
This  important  Treaty,  signed  in  1858,  remained 
unratified  until  i860,  and  events  of  some  importance 
must  be  chronicled  before  referring  to  its  clauses. 

In  1859  Lord  Elgin’s  brother,  Mr.  Bruce,  was 
appointed  to  proceed  to  Peking  to  exchange  the 
necessary  ratifications.  No  sooner  had  he  arrived 
off  the  Taku  Bar  with  Admiral  Hope’s  fleet,  than  it 
became  clear  that  instead  of  an  ambassadorial  greet- 
ing being  extended  to  him,  grape-shot  and  shell 
would  be  poured  on  his  vessels  if  they  ventured 
forward.  Undeterred  by  great  booms  and  other 
obstructions  placed  in  the  river,  the  sailors  attempted 
to  storm  the  forts  in  the  face  of  a tremendous  fire. 
Within  a short  time  they  were  beaten  back  with  a 
loss  of  300  killed  and  wounded.  It  was  plain  that 
a third  war  had  begun.  The  British  force  retired. 


42 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


Meanwhile  in  England  arrangements  were  at 
once  made  to  send  a large  force  which  once  and 
for  all  would  end  the  vexed  questions  of  the  North 
which  refused  to  be  subdued.  Fourteen  thousand 
British  men  assembled  in  Hongkong,  and  the 
French,  whose  fleets  were  already  on  the  China 
seas  acting  in  concert  with  the  British,  were  invited 
to  despatch  a force  to  assist  in  the  necessary  chas- 
tisement. In  the  spring  of  i860,  13,000  Englishmen 
and  7,000  Frenchmen  arrived  off  Taku,  and  after 
some  abortive  pourparlers  the  struggle  began.  The 
Allies  landed,  marched  rapidly  to  the  back  of  the 
Taku  forts,  and  after  fighting,  which  was  very 
severe  at  times  and  ridiculous  at  others,  captured 
every  position  of  importance  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Peiho  up  to  Tientsien,  twenty  miles  inland. 

Lord  Elgin,  who  was  the  chief  of  this  great 
armed  mission,  arrived  off  Tientsien  city  in  a small 
steamer,  and  to  his  surprise  was  greeted  like  an 
old  friend  by  the  Viceroy.  He  refused,  however, 
to  listen  to  the  blandishments  which  were  freely 
lavished  on  him,  and  peremptorily  demanded  that 
three  preliminary  conditions  should  be  fulfilled  before 
he  stayed  the  Allies’  march  on  the  capital.  These 
were:  a full  apology  for  the  attack  on  the  Bruce 
Mission ; immediate  ratification  and  execution  of 
the  1858  Treaty  of  Tientsien;  and  a payment  of  an 
indemnity  to  the  Allies  for  the  naval  and  military 
preparations.  As  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  de- 
murred, orders  were  issued  to  break  camp  and 
continue  the  march  on  Peking.  Lord  Elgin  des- 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


43 


patched  those  two  admirable  Consular  officers, 
Wade  and  Parkes,  to  meet  the  Manchu  princes 
who  were  awaiting  the  Allies.  As  a result  certain 
preliminary  arrangements  were  entered  into  which 
promised  to  turn  out  well.  A few  days  later, 
however,  when  Parkes  rode  forward  to  Tungchow 
with  an  escort  and  a few  companions  to  make  the 
final  arrangements,  it  became  apparent  that  foul 
play  was  intended.  Parkes  discovered  that  an 
ambuscade  was  being  prepared  for  the  Allies.  He 
attempted  to  warn  his  commanders,  but  found  escape 
impossible,  and  to  the  sound  of  an  ominous  can- 
nonade, he,  and  such  of  his  companions  as  had 
remained  with  him,  were  rudely  bound  hand  and 
foot,  flung  into  carts  and  hurried  to  Peking.  Arrived 
in  the  Manchu  capital,  even  the  indomitable  Parkes 
gives  a shudder.  “This  is  worse  than  I ever  ex- 
pected,” he  tells  his  companions.  “We  are  in  the 
worst  prison  in  China.  We  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
torturers;  this  is  the  Board  of  Punishments.” 

These  gloomy  forebodings  were  soon  realised. 
Although  he  was  never  actually  tortured,  he  was 
most  cruelly  handled,  and  some  of  his  fellow-captives 
died;  for  the  Chinese  leaders,  impressed  by  Parkes’ 
masterful  manner  and  the  reputation  he  had  already 
won  in  the  south  of  China,  believed  that  a word 
from  him  would  stay  the  Allies.  Parkes  resolutely 
refused  to  speak  in  any  way,  and  after  a time,  so 
sharply  taunted  were  his  captors,  that  they  ceased 
pestering  him. 

Meanwhile  the  Allies  had  fought  two  sternly 


44 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


contested  battles,  the  first  at  Changchiawan,  the 
second  at  Palichiao,  and  had  driven  the  Chinese 
soldiery  in  confusion  from  the  field.  Even  this  was 
not  sufficient,  and  it  was  not  until  the  famous  looting 
of  the  Summer  Palace  with  its  priceless  gems,  its 
splendid  porcelains  and  silks,  its  gold  and  its  silver, 
that  the  war  party  wavered.  Finally,  through  the 
efforts  of  Prince  Kung,  Hsienfeng’s  uncle,  Parkes 
and  such  of  his  companions  as  had  not  died  by 
torture  were  liberated.  A northern  gate  of  Peking 
was  opened  and  handed  over  to  the  Allied  troops, 
and  on  the  24th  of  October  Prince  Kung  met  Lord 
Elgin  and  Baron  Gros,  the  Allied  Plenipotentiaries, 
and  definitely  concluded  the  treaty  which  has  guided 
the  relations  between  China  and  the  Western  nations 
to  the  present  day. 

By  the  now  ratified  Treaty  of  Tientsien,  foreigners 
were  extra- territorialised  in  a manner  which  was 
plain  to  the  meanest  intellect  of  Chinese  official- 
dom. Henceforth  Consular  officers  had  complete 
and  sole  jurisdiction  over  their  own  nationals,  and 
under  no  circumstances  could  they  be  arrested  or 
maltreated  by  native  officials  without  provoking 
immediate  reprisals.  Not  only  was  this  question 
solved,  but  the  right  of  foreign  countries  to  send 
duly  accredited  envoys  to  reside  at  the  Peking 
Court  was  admitted.  In  addition  to  this,  five  new 
ports,  Newchwang,  Chef 00,  Taiwan,  Swatow,  and 
Kiungchow,  were  definitely  opened  by  the  Tient- 
sien Instrument,  and  one,  Nanking,  by  the  French 
Treaty.  Additional  clauses  agreed  to  the  subse- 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


45 


quent  opening  of  Chinkiang,  Kiukiang,  and  Hankow 
on  the  Yangtsze  as  soon  as  the  rebels  should  have 
been  subdued.  A Customs  Tariff  was  drawn  up 
and  agreed  on,  and  in  the  fifty-six  Articles  of  the 
Tientsien  Treaty  and  the  nine  additional  ones  of 
the  Peking  Convention  of  Peace,  every  conceivable 
point  was  so  effectively  dealt  with  that  the  lustre  of 
Lord  Elgin^s  Mission  has  never  been  eclipsed. 


4.  From  the  Post-Treaty  Period  to  the  Chino- 
Japanese  War 

The  Tientsien  Treaty  of  1858,  ratified  after 
arduous  struggles  lasting  until  the  autumn  of  i860, 
has  well  been  called  the  Magna  Charta  of  the 
foreigner’s  rights  in  China.  In  its  ample  clauses  every 
point  which  had  caused  battles  and  sudden  murders 
since  the  memorable  December  of  1833,  when  Lord 
Palmerston  indited  his  famous  despatch,  was  dealt 
with.  . . . The  European,  daringly  appearing  in  the^ 
southern  seas  in  the  person  of  Portuguese  navi- 
gators during  the  sixteenth  century,  had  once  and 
for  all  asserted  himself,  after  a lapse  of  300  years,  in 
a manner  which  even  facile  Chinese  apologists  could 
never  explain  away.  Henceforth  the  white  man 
was  a fact  who  would  always  have  to  be  reckoned 
with.  . . . The  invincible  North  from  whence  the 
control  of  the  Chinese  Empire  had  always  been 
directed  was  no  longer  what  it  was  formerly.  The 
Manchus,  esteeming  it  more  easy  to  govern  by 


46 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


identifying  themselves  as  completely  as  possible 
with  the  Chinese,  had,  after  the  death  of  Ch’ien 
Lung  before  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, lost  their  vigorous  hold  over  the  eighteen 
provinces  and  beyond.  It  was  therefore  a task  of 
no  great  difficulty  for  the  British  Government  to 
push  steadily  up  towards  the  magnetic  North.  Eight 
years  sufficed  (from  ’35  to  ’42)  to  force  the  signature 
of  the  Nanking  Treaty  and  open  to  the  world  defi- 
nitely and  permanently  five  southern  ports  from 
Canton  to  Shanghai.  In  the  ’forties  and  ’fifties  it 
was  the  port  of  Shanghai,  after  all  only  a half-way 
house  to  the  Ultima  Thule,  Peking,  which  was  spoken 
of  as  the  North.”  Pushing  up  from  Canton  with  their 
foreignised  ^^compradores,”  ^‘boys,”  “shroffs,”  and 
“godown-men,”  the  European  merchants  established 
themselves  successively  in  Amoy,  Foochow,  Ningpo, 
and  Shanghai.  An  English  newspaper  was  founded 
at  Shanghai  and  became  the  North  China  Herald. 
The  natives  of  the  Yangtsze  basin,  uncouth  north- 
erners, were  trained  and  handled  by  the  Cantonese, 
who  had  followed  in  their  hundreds  the  wake  of  the 
white  man,  till  they  were  fit  for  foreign  employ. 

For  twenty-five  years  this  continued  with  the  old 
Canton  hongs  waxing  fat  and  rich  in  their  new  trad- 
ing places.  Then  came  the  Tientsien  Instrument,  with 
the  real  North  flung  open  right  to  Manchurian  New- 
chwang,  and  the  Yangtsze,  the  rich  “Great  River” 
of  the  early  treaty  makers,  accessible  up  to  Hankow 
as  soon  as  the  Taipings  should  have  been  destroyed. 

Long  before  the  ’sixties  the  Taiping  power  was 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


47 


really  spent,  but,  solidly  intrenched  along  the 
southern  bank  of  the  Yangtsze  from  Nanking  to 
within  a few  miles  of  the  sea,  it  successfully  resisted 
all  the  efforts  of  the  Imperialists.  It  was  not  until 
the  Chinese  authorities  enlisted  the  services  of  two 
American  adventurers.  Ward  and  Burgevine,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  ’sixties,  that  things  began  to  go 
better.  Under  Ward’s  leadership,  an  ‘‘Ever 
Victorious  army,”  composed  of  dare-devil  Euro- 
peans and  a picked  body  of  Chinese,  appeared  on  the 
scenes.  In  a few  months  a well-drilled  and  well- 
armed  force  of  five  thousand  men  was  victorious 
over  the  rebels.  Ward  was  unfortunately  mortally 
wounded  in  an  attack  on  a walled  city,  and  his 
subordinate  Burgevine  soon  brought  matters  to  a 
crisis  by  impounding  a big  sum  of  Chinese  Govern- 
ment money  which  he  alleged  was  due  to  his  force. 

Major  Gordon,  afterwards  to  die  at  Khartoum, 
was  called  upon  to  succeed  Burgevine.  Gordon, 
who  had  come  out  with  the  British  Expeditionary 
Forces  to  China,  promptly  reorganised  the  “Ever 
Victorious  army,”  succeeded  in  getting  the  British 
Government  to  lend  a number  of  British  officers, 
and  in  a couple  of  years’  time  Soochow,  Quinsan, 
and  Nanking,  the  last  strongholds  of  the  rebels,  had 
been  stormed,  and  the  Taiping  leaders  with  all  their 
followers  either  killed  or  dispersed.  Gordon’s  force 
was  disbanded.  He  was  loaded  with  honours,  and 
a rebellion,  which  had  lasted  nearly  twenty  years 
and  cost  many  millions  of  lives,  finally  ended. 

Gradually  the  other  European  Powers  “dis- 


48 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


covered’^  China,  and  arranged  treaties  on  the  lines 
of  the  Elgin  Instrument.  In  1858  France  had 
already  signed  her  first  treaty;  in  the  same  year  an 
American  Plenipotentiary  who  had  accompanied  the 
British  to  Tientsien  had  affixed  his  signature  to  an 
identical  document.  The  door  which  England  had 
pushed  open  invited  plenipotentiaries  with  parchment 
deeds  under  their  arms  to  enter,  and  a whirlwind  of 
treaties  soon  followed. 

Meanwhile  the  Russians  had  reappeared  on  the 
Amur,  had  forced  the  signature  of  the  Aigun 
Treaty  in  1858  from  the  Manchurian  high  officials, 
and  had  confirmed  the  cession  of  the  trans-Amur 
and  the  Maritime  Province  by  the  Ignatieff  Treaty 
of  i860.  France  seized  Saigon  and  Cochin  China 
at  the  beginning  of  the  ’sixties,  and  for  a brief  spell 
all  seemed  quiet.  In  1868  so  alluring  did  the 
prospect  seem  that  a Burlingame  Mission  of  universal 
peace  and  goodwill  towards  all  men  sailed  from 
Tientsien  — a mission  to  which  some  reference  will 
later  be  made.  For  three  and  a half  decades  there 
is  not  much  of  importance  to  chronicle.  In  1876 
the  British  Chefoo  Convention  opened  more  treaty 
ports  — Ichang,  Wuhu,  Wenchow,  and  Pakhoi  — as 
part  compensation  for  the  murder  of  a British 
consular  officer.  By  the  French  treaties  and  agree- 
ments following  the  Tonking  war  of  1884,  three 
additional  frontier  ports,  Lungchow,  Szemao,  and 
Mengtze,  were  likewise  opened.  By  the  Chungking 
agreement  of  1890  Chungking  became  the  twentieth 
port  opened  by  British  endeavours.  In  the  ’nineties 


HISTORICAL  PROLOGUE 


49 


came  the  Chino- Japanese  war,  with  Soochow  and 
Hangchow  opened.  In  1898,  the  great  leasing  year, 
Port  Arthur  and  Dalny  became  Russian,  Tsingtao 
and  the  Kiaochow  territory  German,  Weihaiwei 
British,  and  subsequently  Kwanchouwan,  in  Southern 
China,  French.  Meanwhile  successive  agreements 
and  treaties  had  opened,  at  the  invitation  of  the 
British  authorities,  Wuchow  and  Samshui  on  the 
West  River,  Yatung  on  the  Indian  frontier, 
Tengyueh  on  the  Burmese  boundary,  and  Chin- 
wangtao,  Yochow  and  Santuaow  and  Shasib. 

But  more  important  than  the  throwing  open  to 
trade  of  so  many  marts  and  harbours  are  the  events 
of  the  pre-Boxer  and  post-Boxer  years,  and  it  is 
therefore  with  the  object  of  seeing  something  of 
what  these  things  have  produced,  and  understanding 
the  many  issues  of  the  great  war  now  raging,^  that  I 
will  lead  my  readers  by  the  hand  and,  craving  their 
kind  indulgence,  ask  them  to  accompany  me  in  the 
voyages  and  political  discussions  which  follow. 

^ It  will  be  understood  that  this  volume  was  written  during  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1905.  — Publisher’s  note. 


VOL.  I — E 


CHAPTER  I 

SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 

As  soon  as  you  have  consulted  the  sailing-time  of 
your  Yangtsze  river-boat  and  grasped  what  a change- 
able and  wayw^ard  thing  it  can  be,  you  realise  that 
the  humble  passenger  is  a somewhat  profitless  piece 
of  cargo,  and  that  the  tides  and  the  question  of 
making  the  first  landing-place,  Chinkiang,  are 
matters  of  transcendent  importance.  This  is 
because  things  are  still  in  a transition  stage  and  the 
passenger  has  not  assumed  the  importance  which 
w^ill  be  his  in  Far  Eastern  traffic  in  very  few  years. 
For,  with  a rapidity  which  is  astonishing,  the  Euro- 
pean is  pushing  into  every  place  in  the  Far  East 
and  sweeping  away  old  traditions. 

Your  steamer  pushes  off  from  Shanghai,  the 
warehouse  of  Central  and  Northern  China,  perhaps 
between  midnight  and  two  of  the  morning,  but  never 
during  daylight,  and  even  your  captain  may  not 
know  the  exact  hour.  If  you  are  lucky  you  leave 
sharp  on  time,  but  until  the  very  last  moment  coolie- 
gangs  are  hurrying  bales  and  packages  of  many 
shapes  into  the  holds,  with  their  everlasting  choruses 

50 


CH.  I SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YAJ^GTSZE  51 

chanted  from  one  group  to  another;  and  the  last 
word  rests  with  the  all-supreme  ship’s  compradorej  the 
supercargo  of  other  days.  The  derricks  and  steam 
windlasses  hang  gloomily  in  the  night  air,  for  you 
are  in  a land  where  human  labour  is  cheaper  than 
most  machinery,  and  is  still  fighting  sweatily  and 
half  successfully  even  the  most  approved  labour- 
saving  appliances.  And  since  your  ship  is  but  a 
ferryboat,  her  sides  open  up  and  allow  the  gangs  to 
troop  in  and  out  with  a freedom  which  no  ocean- 
steamer  would  dare  to  allow;  and  therefore  round 
the  ship’s  vitals  this  human  tide  ebbs  and  flows. 

Until  the  very  last  mon\ent,  the  bales  and  pack- 
ages, slung  on  stout  bamboo  carrying-poles,  troop 
noisily  in.  The  shroffs  clicking  their  tally-sticks 
murmur  to  one  another  the  last  indecent  saying  of 
the  singing-girls  whose  company  they  have  just  left; 
and  the  stevedore’s  mates,  with  pigtails  tightly  rolled 
about  their  heads  and  the  dusty  sweat  glistening  on 
their  shaven  foreheads,  standing  in  the  dim,  kerosene- 
lighted  passages,  raucously  curse  the  laggards  and 
hurry  them  on  with  shouts.  Perhaps  it  will  be  half- 
an-hour,  perhaps  hours ; alone  the  tally-men, 
thumping  their  tally-boxes  from  side  to  side  and 
muttering  their  jokes,  know  the  true  tale. 

The  last  moment  finally  comes  and  you  are 
surprised  that  everybody  knows  it  instinctively  — in 
fact,  has  known  it  instinctively  since  the  beginning 
of  the  long  night,  after  the  manner  which  only 
comes  from  well-learned  lessons.  The  captain  has 
taken  his  place  noiselessly  on  the  bridge ; the  mates 


52 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


and  engineers  all  appear  and  disappear;  the  coolies 
in  their  hundreds  suddenly  cease  their  chorusing 
and  calling,  and  melt  away  in  irresolute  streams 
through  the  battered  wharf-gates.  Chains  exhorted 
by  willing  hands  begin  to  rattle;  fat  hawsers  slide 
slimily  overboard,  splashing  lazily  into  the  water; 
gang-planks  fall  away  from  you  with  a crash;  in  five 
minutes  you  are  in  the  stream  with  the  engines 
thudding  slowly  and  pensively,  and  the  shore,  with 
its  line  upon  line  of  gloomy  godowns  and  its  blink- 
ing lights,  silhouetted  against  an  inky  sky-line.  Far 
away  until  the  lights  lose  themselves  in  the  distance, 
the  emporium  spreads  rnightily  up  and  down  the 
river-bank,  until  in  the  black  night  you  realise  that 
you  are  leaving  comparative  civilisation,  planted 
resolutely  and  defiantly  on  unsympathetic  mudbanks, 
for  something  less  tangible. 

You  swirl  down  the  chocolate-brown  river  until 
the  anchorage,  with  its  steamers,  its  hooting 
launches,  and  its  countless  junks,  so  eloquently 
silent  along  many  miles  of  water-front,  is  far  behind 
you.  In  an  hour,  have  you  the  tide  with  you,  you 
sweep  out  of  the  tributary  Huang-pu  into  the  mighty 
Yangtsze.  Here  you  are  in  a veritable  sea,  with 
great  islands  lurching  drunkenly  across  your  path, 
which  only  to  your  river-pilot  are  no  obstacles. 
The  small  hours  grow  into  bigger  ones,  the  hot 
summer  air  is  cooling,  it  is  time  to  sleep. 

You  wake  maybe  at  six  in  the  morning  after  too 
short  a slumber,  hot  and  unrefreshed.  You  would 
sleep  again,  but  the  Yangtsze  sun  pouring  down 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


53 


heavily  and  crushingly  is  already  high  in  the 
heavens,  and  the  heat  is  beginning  to  make  the  air 
quiver.  Your  cool  bath  is  out  of  the  question  unless 
you  are  in  an  old-fashioned  boat  of  the  early  days 
with  great  brown  earthenware  K^angs  cooling  the 
water  below  in  the  dark,  hidden  far  from  the  search 
of  the  sun’s  rays.  In  the  new  steamer,  with  taps 
and  other  things,  and  water  stored  in  overhead  tanks, 
the  sun  has  already  boiled  your  bath  for  you,  and 
chocolate  water  straight  from  the  river  uncleaned 
by  alum  is  the  next  best  you  can  demand. 

Out  on  the  deck  the  cool  breeze  which  blows  off 
the  water  with  sunrise  is  still  faintly  stirring  the  air. 
You  glance  at  the  thermometer;  only  90  degrees  in 
the  shade  — it  is  the  cold  season  still. 

Meanwhile,  plodding  patiently,  the  great  river- 
boat  of  three  thousand  tons  calmly  pushes  her  nose 
up  stream,  swimming  coolly  like  a wallowing  water- 
buffalo  and  searching  busily  for  the  deep  water.  If 
you  are  a new-comer  surprise  will  overtake  you,  for 
the  Yangtsze  is  so  vast  in  places  in  these  summer 
flood -times  that  it  is  no  longer  a river  but  an  inland 
sea  — a world  of  water  that,  commencing  somewhere 
in  the  Himalayas  perhaps,  swings  through  space 
until  China  is  reached;  then  imperatively  demands 
recruits  from  every  stream  and  rivulet  for  more 
thousands  of  miles,  until,  reaching  Hankow,  it 
becomes  uncontrollable  when  the  summer  lust  is  on 
everything  and  the  sun  is  shining  its  hottest;  and, 
riotously  overspreading  the  alluvial  plains  to  which 
it  gave  birth  ages  ago,  it  becomes  a sea,  a world  of 


54 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


water  restrained  only  into  narrow  channels  where  the 
cliffs  and  rocks  of  the  real  sea  which  was  formerly 
here  still  rear  their  heads. 

Moving  always  steadily  forward,  while  the  sun 
reaches  higher  and  higher  until  it  strikes  straight 
through  the  double  canvas  awning  with  uncontrollable 
fury,  your  good  boat  pants  along.  On  either  side 
great  yellow  reeds  fledge  the  river  banks.  Some- 
times, searching  for  your  deep  water,  you  swing  in 
so  close  on  your  starboard  beam  that  the  swirl 
of  the  steamer  sends  a miniature  tidal  wave  of 
chocolate  water  racing  along  the  rich  mud  bank;  and 
then  massive  black  water-buffaloes  who  until  then 
have  been  peering  at  you  indifferently  plunge  wildly 
inland  to  escape  the  Unknown  Thing.  At  other 
times  the  banks  fade  away  farther  and  farther  until 
they  are  mere  tracings  thousands  and  thousands  of 
yards  away.  The  river-pilot  swerves  this  way  and 
that,  sometimes  guided  by  river-marks  but  most 
often  feeling  his  way,  because  the  river  has  become 
a second  nature  to  him  and  he  understands  its  many 
moods  and  knows  how  to  meet  them.  Occasionally, 
but  this  very  rarely,  a native  quartermaster  steps  into 
the  canvas  grate  and  heaves  the  lead.  The  marks 
are  chanted  up  to  the  bridge,  sleepily  and  dully,  for 
he  too  feels  more  than  he  sees.  Sometimes  his  tone 
suddenly  changes  to  a sharper  note  — you  need  not 
listen  to  the  sounding  — the  ship  has  felt  too  that  it  is 
shoaling  water,  and  peering  with  its  nose  quietly 
round  is  heading  away  dully  in  another  direction. 

Thus  you  steam  up  the  Yangtsze  with  its  ever 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


55 


shifting  channels  and  its  newly  forming  islands  that 
sometimes  appear  only  to  disappear.  You  note  a 
delicious  piece  of  green,  so  cool  in  the  chocolate 
stream  that  you  would  long  to  explore  it.  You 
stretch  out  to  look,  but  already  you  have  edged  far 
away,  for  the  countless  blades  of  tender  grass  push- 
ing out  of  the  water  are  no  joy  for  pilots  or  steamer 
companies;  they  mean  dangers  which  may  entirely 
change  the  deep-water  channel  and  reshift  the 
ground-plan  of  the  great  river. 

In  the  distance,  and  never  too  close  to  the  river 
excepting  where  a massive  mud  and  reed-bound 
dyke  has  been  raised  to  pen  in  flood-waters, 
villages  dot  the  fat  country.  Many  miles  away 
from  the  river  you  can  pick  out  these  rude  little 
towns,  for  around  each  heavy  clumps  of  willow 
and  elm  stand,  rising  above  the  level  of  the  country, 
trees  whose  branches  serve  to  shade  from  the  sun 
in  the  torrid  season,  and  which  in  winter  are  ruth- 
lessly stripped  to  set  the  pot  a-boiling.  And  near 
every  village  that  stands  near  the  river  you  will  find 
a creek,  a narrow,  sinuous  stream,  which  crawls  far 
inland  to  the  rice-country,  and  is  crowded  with 
native  shipping  and  junking.  On  watch  at  each 
entrance  are  the  guard-boats  of  the  provincial  autho- 
rities, with  banners  floating  from  the  main  mast 
'proclaiming  their  policing  and  likin-levying  duties. 
On  these  guard-boats  there  is  but  one  ancient 
carronade  peering  over  the  bows,  a hopelessly  out- 
of-date  weapon  which  serves  its  purpose,  however, 
well  enough.  Lolling  under  the  blue  and  white 


56 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


awning  are  the  crew,  a lazy  crowd  who  find  life 
not  a little  dreary.  Only  on  official  feast-days  and 
holidays  when  the  little  carronade  crashes  forth 
flames  and  smoke,  and  strings  of  crackers,  festooned 
down  in  red  chains  from  the  rigging,  are  loosed  off 
with  a roar  of  musketry,  do  the  crew  wake  up  and 
don  their  soldiers’  clothes.  On  week-days,  what 
boots  it  to  make  more  of  the  parade  than  mere  mud- 
banks  demand?  Therefore  the  crew  sleeps  peace- 
fully. 

At  regular  intervals,  the  big  and  little  villages 
with  their  clumps  of  trees  and  their  guard-boats 
and  junks  punctuate  time  and  distance  along  reed 
and  grass-grown  banks.  Beyond  these  villages  for 
countless  miles  inland  stretches  the  rice-country, 
those  fat  fields  of  Anhui  and  Kiangsu,  which  to  this 
day  forward  their  tribute  in  kind  to  the  Manchus  in 
Peking.  There  is  nothing  else  to  watch  until  sud- 
denly your  steamer  hoots  mightily,  and  the  engines, 
that  have  been  beating  out  their  ten  or  eleven  knots, 
halt  a bit  and  go  forward  more  solemnly  and  slowly 
at  half-speed.  As  you  come  abreast  of  a village 
four  or  five  hundred  yards  off,  a heavy  native  ferry- 
boat pushes  out  of  the  hidden  creek  with  some  native 
passengers  and  their  pigskin  trunks.  Rowing  rapidly, 
the  squat-shaped  craft  swings  into  the  stream,  and 
as  she  comes  towards  you  looses  off  a string  of 
discordant  crackers  — a necessary  greeting  to  your 
ship,  which  is  on  a maiden  voyage.  For  in  this 
way  are  the  river-gods  propitiated  and  their  possible 
anger  placated.  A line  is  thrown,  the  native  pas- 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


57 


sengers  jump  and  scramble  in  through  your  open 
sides  — their  belongings  are  banged  lustily  aboard 
after  them;  other  men  clamber  off,  bound  for  their 
ancestral  homes;  there  is  more  shouting,  and  almost 
before  you  have  time  to  realise  it  the  telegraph  has 
rung  full  speed  again  and  the  ferry-boat  has  sunk 
away  behind  you,  tugged  back  by  the  violent  cur- 
rent. It  is  only  one  of  the  call-stations,  where  in 
the  prosaic  words  of  the  treaties  ‘‘steamers  shall  be 
allowed  to  touch  for  the  purpose  of  shipping  pas- 
sengers or  goods,  but  in  all  instances  by  means  of 
native  boats  only,  and  subject  to  the  regulations  in 
force  affecting  native  trade. ^ 

Thus  onward,  only  occasionally  half-halting  grudg- 
ingly at  such  rare  call-stations.  The  sun  reaches 
the  meridian  and  slowly  sinks  down  across  the 
horizon,  with  heavy,  uncouth  water-buffaloes  blink- 
ing knee-deep  in  the  water  along  the  banks,  and  the 
country,  as  flat  as  your  hand  but  rich  beyond  belief  in 
rice-production,  heaving  away  in  limitless  stretches 
north,  south,  east,  and  west.  Sometimes  a river- 
steamer  of  the  old  Mississippi  days  passing  down 
stream  with  its  double  row  of  decks,  crowded  black 
with  native  passengers,  toots  a merry  greeting  to  you, 
the  new  and  modern  arrival,  as  she  hurries  away. 
And  towards  nightfall,  i6o  miles  from  Shanghai, 
the  first  treaty  port,  Chinkiang,  with  a pagoda 
planted  half  out  in  the  river,  and  with  hills  and 
rocky  islands  scattered  around,  looms  up  in  front 
of  you. 

Chinkiang,  which  according  to  the  wiseacres  of 


58 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


the  ’sixties  would  rival  and  outstrip  Shanghai,  is 
a little  place  which  has  not  fulfilled  expectations. 
A line  of  hulks,  one  for  each  steamer  company, 
is  slung  along  the  river-front  a hundred  yards  or 
so  from  the  shore,  each  held  in  position  in  the 
swiftly  flowing  waters  by  countless  chains  — moored 
head  and  stern.  From  the  hulks  to  the  river  bund- 
ing, wooden  bridges,  very  narrow  and  very  flush 
with  the  water,  carry  you  ashore.  The  hulks  are 
vessels  of  the  old  days,  which  having  served  their 
full  time  on  active  service  when  old  China  was 
being  opened  to  the  world,  are  allowed  an  honour- 
able retirement  in  their  hooded  pensioners’  dress. 
Figure-heads  lean  on  their  curved  bows,  and  strange 
names,  such  as  the  ^‘Wandering  Jew,”  call  your 
attention  to  the  fact  that  they  are  of  the  Early 
Victorian  period.  But  even  these  will  soon  dis- 
appear in  the  change  that  is  coming  over  the  East, 
and  in  their  places  will  come  brand-new  steel  pon- 
toons from  the  Shanghai  docks,  hideous  but  more 
useful  in  the  money-making  age. 

But  hardly  have  you  bumped  alongside  the  hulk 
than  the  holds  ’tween  decks  far  below  from  where 
you  stand  are  flung  wide  open,  and  the  cargo  in 
heedless  confusion  is  once  again  trooping  in  and  out. 
Even  before  you  came  alongside,  hundreds  of  coolies 
clinging  to  the  massive  wooden  fenders  of  the  hulk 
in  the  most  perilous  fashion,  began  jumping  on 
board  with  a six-foot  gap  of  swirling  water  below 
them,  out  of  which  no  man  could  come  alive  were 
he  to  fall.  It  is  the  Chinese  indifference  to  any- 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


59 


thing,  no  matter  how  dangerous,  which  stands 
between  them  and  immediate  cash-earning.  A few 
minutes  sooner  or  later  may  mean  a few  cash  more 
or  less,  and  what  man  can  say  the  price  at  which 
his  life  is  valued ! 

On  shore  the  Settlement  which  has  not  fulfilled 
expectations  spreads  itself.  There  is  the  little 
China  bund  with  the  weeping  willows  hanging  list- 
lessly in  the  heat ; a few  dozen  big  verandahed 
houses;  some  lolling  native  policemen;  whilst,  be- 
hind, a blurr  of  Chinese  city-walls  and  buildings 
show  the  limits  of  the  Europeans’  boundaries. 
Chinkiang,  in  the  opinion  of  the  early  treaty  makers 
when  the  great  river  had  only  just  been  prised  open 
to  foreign  trade,  was  to  be  the  great  anchorage  of 
ocean-going  craft  which  had  steamed  all  th^  way 
from  the  Far  West  to  the  Far  East.  Here  the 
ocean  craft  would  await  up-river  cargoes,  or,  sur- 
rendering their  papers,  would  steam  themselves 
under  special  passes  to  the  head  of  the  middle 
Yangtsze  — Hankow.  Instead  of  this,  Shanghai 
has  become  the  great  warehouse,  and  Chinkiang  is 
nothing  but  a very  ordinary  and  common-place  little 
port,  sweltering  in  the  sun.  In  the  East,  never 
prophesy ! 

Below  the  little  European  Settlement  is  a junk- 
and  raft-crowded  stream,  which  you  may  take  for 
the  inevitable  creek.  It  is  no  creek,  however,  this; 
it  is  the  opening  into  the  Grand  Canal.  The  Grand 
Canal ! All  you  who  have  travelled  through  the  Suez 
cuttings  and  seen  the  work  of  a de  Lesseps,  think  of 


6o 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


a canal  system  not  a few  dozen  miles  long,  but  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  of  miles  in  length,  with 
thousands  of  miles  of  subsidiary  canals  all  con- 
necting and  feeding  one  another;  a Grand  Canal 
stretching  from  Hangchow  in  latitude  30  and  the 
very  centre  of  China,  to  Tientsien  and  Peking  in 
latitude  40,  where  is  the  great  North ; a canal 
a thousand  miles  long  passing  through  four  of  the 
greatest  provinces  and  providing  the  cheapest  car- 
riage in  the  world;  a canal  which,  one  day,  con- 
nected with  Canton ! But,  alas,  much  of  all  this  is 
to-day  merely  theory,  since  for  many  scores  of 
years  the  sloth  of  China’s  rulers  and  the  ever 
increasing  silt  and  mud  have  rendered  these  mag- 
nificent waterways,  built  when  Europe  was  in  the 
Dark  Ages,  impracticable  in  many  parts.  From 
Chinkiang,  however,  back  to  Hangchow  and  Soo- 
chow  and  dozens  of  other  rich  cities  in  the  interior, 
many  thousands  of  native  craft  still  sail  along,  pic- 
turesquely carrying  produce  and  passengers ; and 
were  China  to  be  but  reformed  by  energetic  men,  in 
a single  decade  this  water-borne  commerce  would 
bring  about  a gigantic  development  in  trade.  All 
along  the  great  Yangtsze,  which  is  still  in  theory 
the  British  sphere,  there  are  immense  possibilities 
of  this  nature.  Everywhere  there  is  water  with 
millions  and  tens  of  millions  of  industrious  people; 
and  it  would  require  but  few  changes  and  a sound 
policy  to  convert  these  regions  into  the  richest  and 
fattest  in  the  world. 

You  must  not  wander  too  far,  however,  in  search 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


6i 


of  facts,  for  presently  your  steamer  will  shriek  its 
steam-warning,  and  soon  will  be  panting  off  in  the 
night  to  reach  Nanking,  fifty  miles  higher  up,  by 
grey  dawn. 

In  due  course  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day 
you  are  tied  up,  with  Nanking,  the  former  capital 
of  the  Empire,  in  front  of  you.  The  neatness  of 
Chinkiang  has  disappeared,  and  before  you  is  merely 
a confused  and  dirty-looking  landing-place,  with  no 
European  Settlement,  and  apparently  no  Chinese 
city  excepting  a hovel-like  collection  of  houses  and 
a handful  of  rough  godowns. 

Nanking  as  a port  of  foreign  trade  is  an  example 
of  one  of  those  things  which  only  happen  in  China. 
Opened  to  the  Western  world  by  the  French  Treaty 
of  1858,  it  was  not  until  the  end  of  the  ’nineties  that 
treaty-rights  were  accorded  to  the  place,  and  those 
outward  and  visible  things.  Consuls,  Commissioners 
of  Customs,  and  merchants,  appeared.  Why  it  was 
opened  so  casually  after  being  forgotten  for  forty 
years  no  one  exactly  knows,  excepting  that  after 
the  famous  ‘‘leasing”  years  of  1898  with  bits  of 
China  being  chipped  off  by  all  the  Christian  Powers, 
someone  who  had  still  some  regard  for  Celestial  im- 
potence concluded  it  would  be  a good  thing  to  throw 
open  the  city  to  general  trade,  and  thus  remove  a 
possible  source  of  temptation  to  the  annexing  Powers. 
And  in  this  wise  was  Nanking  opened. 

Far  behind  the  sullen  landing-place,  sullen  be- 
cause the  great  river  is  viciously  eating  away  great 
pieces  of  brown-black  foreshore,  is  an  enchanted 


62 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


city,  delightful  if  dirty,  because  if  you  know  your 
history  you  may  find  all  manner  of  things  hidden 
away  in  certain  corners.  Forward,  therefore,  from 

the  riverine  landing-place  to  where  the  long  line 
of  lofty  crenelated  grey  brick  walls  heaves  up  in 
the  distance. 

Once  through  a filthy  native  quarter  you  come 
on  a broad  and  respectable  ma-lu  or  horse  road. 

At  the  head  of  the  road  stand  a grim  group  of 
ramshackle  carriages,  to  which  are  attached  ponies 
of  strange  build  and  colouring  — mostly  whitish 
ponies  with  the  curious  yellow-green  coats  of  ex- 
treme old  age  and  dirt  peculiar  to  China.  The 

history  of  these  strange  conveyances  is  curious. 
After  they  have  served  and  been  condemned  in 

up-to-date  places,  such  as  Shanghai,  and  have  been 
laughed  at  by  even  native  fares  elsewhere,  it  is 
decided  that  the  time  has  come  for  shipping  them 
to  Nanking,  there  to  drive  on  this  solitary  five- 
mile  road  which  leads  to  a decaying  capital  in  a 
manner  which  causes  you  long  afterwards  to  wake 
in  the  night  and  groan  in  the  silent  agony  of  bitter 
recollection.  Who  could  describe  the  Nanking 
hack-carriages  ? Each  yard  you  progress  forward 
is  punctuated  and  scrupulously  recorded  on  your 
spinal  column;  each  crack  of  broken  whip  on  your 
wooden  steed  only  jerks  you  forward  until  the  next 
blow;  each  curse  only  ends  for  a fresh  one  to  ooze 
up  — it  is  a dry  agony,  only  interrupted  in  order  that 
repairs  to  a crumbling  harness  may  be  effected  by 
means  of  a string. 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


63 


In  this  fashion  you  finally  clatter  up  to  Nanking’s 
grey  walls,  and  your  bare-footed  and  bare-faced  Jehu 
gives  you  the  final  grin  and  prepares  his  adjectives 
for  the  scene  which  must  follow  according  to  eti- 
quette. It  is  a dull  enough  business,  for  your  defeat 
is  certain  in  the  end  — since  who  can  fight  the  China- 
man on  the  monetary  question? 

The  crenelated  walls,  with  their  reed-grown  gaps, 
enclose  no  living  city  at  first  sight,  but  one  which 
still  lies  half-dead,  paralysed  by  the  misdeeds  and 
the  misfortunes  of  the  Taiping  rebels.  Within  the 
walls,  twenty-two  miles  in  circumference,  are  howling 
wildernesses,  miles  and  miles  in  extent,  covered 
with  rank-growing  vegetation  and  strewn  with  piles 
of  broken  bricks,  which  raise  a lasting  protest  against 
all  cruel  rebellions.  Sometimes  the  energy  of  the 
peasant  Chinaman  has  asserted  itself  in  little  patches, 
and  then  within  the  city  walls  you  have  such  strange 
anomalies  as  fields  of  wheat  and  barley  and  end- 
less kitchen-gardens.  But  the  dominant  feature  of 
China’s  some-time  capital  of  the  South  is  ruin  — the 
absolute,  crushing  ruin  which  can  only  come  after  a 
decade  of  Napoleonic  warfare.  The  world-famous 
Porcelain  Tower,  once  the  most  beautiful  Pagoda  in 
China,  and  the  Taj  Mahal  of  the  yellow  man, 
vanished  fifty  years  ago  during  the  Taiping  struggles, 
and  only  broken  and  scattered  bricks  remain  of  the 
structure  which  was  the  glory  of  Nanking.  Scat- 
tered far  and  wide  are  the  remains  of  palaces,  the 
abodes  of  the  Taiping  leaders  who  called  themselves 
the  Heavenly  Kings.  Beyond  the  Eastern  walls 


64 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


are  the  Ming  Tombs,  with  avenues  of  stone  animals 
and  curious  monuments,  where  lie  the  remains  of 
the  earlier  Ming  sovereigns.  To  see  these  tombs 
is  interesting,  for  although  everything  else  has  been 
desecrated,  to  touch  the  graves  of  ancestors  was  too 
great  a crime  even  for  rebels.  In  many  corners  you 
may  find  relics  of  the  past,  which  explain  things  in 
China^s  history  which  seemed  inexplicable. 

But  Nanking,  although  so  prostrate  from  blows 
dealt  half  a century  ago,  is  recovering  after  a fashion, 
and  when  it  is  connected  by  railway  with  other  centres 
will  regain  something  of  its  former  importance.  It 
is  the  seat  of  the  Viceroy  of  the  lower  Yangtsze 
provinces,  which  are  the  fattest  in  the  whole  Empire. 
Nanking,  therefore,  is  the  richest  plum  in  the  basket 
of  Chinese  officialdom,  the  dreamed-of  post  of  all 
Viceroys ; for  although  the  city  is  a tumble-down 
affair,  the  Viceroy  takes  toll  from  many  tens  of 
thousands  of  miles  of  fat  land  and  hundreds  of 
wealthy  cities,  and  can  rapidly  become  rich  beyond 
the  dreams  of  avarice.  But  the  old  Southern  capital 
is  a difficult  post,  and  since  the  time  of  the  Taipings  it 
has  become  the  rule  that  only  men  from  the  Hunan 
province  are  eligible.  And  the  reason  is  on  account 
of  one  of  those  mixed-up  things  which  also  only  occur 
in  China.  Tseng  Kuo-Fan,  father  of  the  Marquis 
Tseng,  so  well  known  twenty  years  ago  in  England, 
on  the  approach  of  the  Taipings  from  Southern 
China,  threw  himself  into  Changsha,  the  provincial 
capital  of  Hunan,  and  aided  by  tens  of  thousands 
of  his  own  provincials,  beat  the  Taipings  off.  It 


The  Guardians  of  the  Ming  Tomhs. 


1 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


65 


was  this  same  Tseng  who  later,  as  generalissimo  of 
the  Imperial  forces,  and  with  Li  Hung  Chang  and 
Gordon  as  two  of  his  lieutenants,  finally  destroyed 
the  Taiping  power  and  garrisoned  the  newly  captured 
Nanking  capital  with  Hunanese  troops,  reputed  then 
to  be  the  bravest  and  fiercest  in  the  whole  Empire. 
The  Hunanese  troops,  possibly  because  they  have 
such  a big  reputation,  are  also  great  secret  society 
men,  and  have  made  Nanking  the  headquarters  of 
the  dreaded  Kolao-hui,  the  most  formidable  secret 
organisation  in  the  whole  of  China.  Established 
in  the  ’forties  of  the  seventeenth  century,  whilst  the 
Mings  were  still  wrestling  with  the  Manchus  for  the 
overlordship  of  China,  although  the  whole  of  the 
northern  half  of  the  country  was  already  under 
the  Tartar  yoke,  the  Kolao-hui  continued  to  fight; 
and  though  in  the  end  it  was  nominally  crushed  and 
reduced  to  submission,  it  has  always  remained  a 
species  of  clandestine  Tammany  Hall  of  the 
Yangtsze,  with  all  manner  of  means  of  opposing 
and  obstructing  the  Government,  and  even  of 
raising  the  standard  of  rebellion  if  its  wishes  are  not 
paid  strict  attention  to.  These  things,  and  the  fact 
that  the  Hunanese  garrison  of  fifteen  thousand  men 
is  still  maintained  at  Nanking  with  other  garrisons 
of  fellow-provincials  scattered  up  and  down  the 
river,  force  the  Government  to  appoint  Viceroys 
of  the  same  province,  — thus  not  upsetting  the  curious 
ruling  by  equipoise,  which  is  the  hit  motif  of  the 
Chinese  system.  It  is  strange  that  the  Chinese 
Government  plays  off  the  men  of  one  province 

VOL.  I — F 


66 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


against  the  men  of  another  in  much  the  same  way 
as  the  Indian  Government  does  with  the  races  of 
India. 

The  Nanking  Viceroy  is  therefore  a man  of  all 
men  among  Chinese  high  officials,  and  he  is  the 
more  important  of  the  two  Yangtsze  Viceroys  who 
entered  into  the  so-called  Yangtsze  compact  in  1900 
— a compact  which  Downing  Street  to  this  day  fondly 
believes  to  have  been  made  owing  to  the  energy  of 
British  officialdom  during  the  Boxer  year,  whereas 
it  was  a self-preserving  agreement  spontaneously 
entered  into  by  two  men  who  knew  the  northern 
movement  would  miss  fire.  In  this  way  is  history 
written  and  delusions  spread  abroad  which  in  the  end 
lead  to  great  mistakes. 

Once  more  back  to  the  steamer,  and  once  more 
plodding  up  the  river.  Soon  it  is  no  longer 
Kiangsu  province  but  Anhui  territory  which  lines 
the  river  and  shuts  it  in.  Rising  ground  is  more 
frequent  and  the  rice-fields  are  pushing  closer  and 
closer  to  the  river.  Sometimes  now  the  river  shuts 
in  quite  narrowly  and  suddenly,  and  heights  rising 
high  above  the  rolling  plains  provide  admirable 
positions  for  forts  and  heavy  guns  which  in  resolute 
hands  would  make  the  passage  of  this  great  water- 
way impossible.  Once  already,  at  the  Kiang-Ying 
forts  on  the  lower  reaches  of  the  river,  a taste  has 
been  given  of  what  the  Chinese  could  accomplish 
were  they  so  minded  and  did  they  but  go  to  work 
with  Japanese  carefulness  and  precision.  As  you 
steam  higher  and  higher  and  see  these  heights 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


67 


rising  again  and  again  dozens  of  times,  an  ominous 
impression  forms  in  your  mind.  ...  If  this 

Chinese  question  is  further  mishandled,  as  it  has 
been  during  the  past  decade  so  consistently  and 
foolishly,  the  position  on  the  Yangtsze  may  one  day 
become  impossible.  Artillery  and  men  are  all  that 
are  needed  to  make  lines  of  iron  gates  between 
Hankow  and  the  sea,  and  once  these  gates  were 
there  the  Chinaman  in  mid-China  could  assert  him- 
self in  a way  which  would  astonish  the  entire  world. 
No  one,  however,  will  take  such  a point  of  view 
seriously  as  yet,  for  until  now,  although  there  have 
been  riots  and  risings  on  the  Yangtsze  since  the  be- 
ginning of  Treaty  intercourse,  there  has  been  no  well- 
organised  movement.  Mobs  have  risen  again  and 
again  and  killed  foreigners  and  burnt  European  settle- 
ments; but  after  British  gunboats  have  steamed  in 
and  cleared  for  action,  things  have  always  simmered 
down  with  the  heavy  haze  of  the  Chinese  atmos- 
phere obscuring  too  clear  a view  of  it  all.  But  this 
was  whilst  China  was  learning.  After  the  giant 
lesson  of  the  great  Far  Eastern  war,  all  lessons  will 
have  been  done  with  and  something  else  will  be 
seen.  And  soon  the  British  and  other  European 
gunboats  on  the  river  will  be  merely  toy-ships, 
unequal  to  the  part  they  have  played  in  the  past. 

Thus  in  time  the  third  river-port,  Wuhu,  two  and 
a half  days  from  Shanghai,  is  reached.  Curiously 
enough,  the  direct  reason  why  steamers  can  stop  at 
this  place  and  European  merchants  build  their 
houses  and  godowns  and  buy  and  sell,  is  because 


68 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


an  Englishman,  Margary,  was  brutally  murdered  in 
the  early  ’seventies  on  the  Burmese  frontier.  The 
Chefoo  Convention,  opening  four  ports  and  six  call- 
stations  to  foreign  trade,  was  the  vengeance  de- 
manded for  the  assassination  of  Margary,  a British 
Consular  official  — a vengeance  which  was  the 
kindest  to  take  on  a people  who  have  been  too 
rapidly  dragged  from  the  slumber  of  ages.  Wuhu 
was  the  principal  one  of  the  four  ports. 

In  Wuhu  the  river  frontage  is  packed  with  thick 
layers  of  native  shipping,  lined  witl^  timber  and 
bamboo  rafts,  and  stacked  high  with  great  cargoes 
of  rice;  whilst  a noisome  native  city  runs  down  to 
the  very  water’s  edge,  and  countless  half-naked 
coolies  sluice  water  from  the  stream  into  their 
buckets  and  pant  up  long  lines  of  stone  steps  to 
sell  their  burdens.  Except  for  the  shipping  offices, 
a Custom  House  and  some  Consular  Officials,  there 
is  no  evidence  of  the  white  man  to  be  seen.  The 
steamers  have  bitten  into  the  life  of  the  port 
because  they  are  strong  and  cheap;  but  the  Euro- 
pean is  swamped  by  the  dense  masses  of  humanity 
which  surround  him,  and  is  too  weak  as  yet  to  com- 
pete. Around  you  there  is  nothing  of  interest  to 
be  seen  and  the  sun  beats  down  with  the  heat  of 
a fury.  More  native  boats  sidle  continually  to  the 
anchorage  laden  with  silk  and  rice  which  they  have 
borne  here  from  the  interior  on  canals  running  into 
the  back-country;  there  is  nothing  but  a mass  of 
sweltering  humanity  and  greater  masses  of  boats 
and  junks  always  moving. 


Native  Shipping  snug  in  a Creek. 


. On  the  Yangtsze. 


[/^ace  page  68,  Vol.  I 


rf,. 

I V 


4* 


4i 


V 


: . --i!!'  L.: 


* * 


/ 


■<r: 


. " 


9‘ 


^ t. 


I 


'~t 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


69 


The  back  of  Wuhu  is  the  China  sportsman’s 
paradise,  with  deer,  wild  pig,  pheasant,  partridges, 
and  woodcock  to  be  shot  by  the  boat-load ; and 
here,  in  the  old  days  before  the  foreigners’  de- 
mands sent  native  huntsmen  out  in  big  droves 
slaughtering  callously  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
you  could  get  a variety  of  game  unknown  else- 
where. 

Wuhu  slips  away  in  the  distance,  and  you  thud 
ever  onwards,  conscious  now  that  you  are  on  the 
biggest  river  in  the  world,  if  not  the  longest. 
Around  you  are  no  longer  the  rolling  plains  com- 
posed of  the  silt  borne  down  ages  ago,  but  an  older 
land  of  an  earlier  geological  formation.  The  river, 
which  was  a mere  river  of  mud  in  the  beginning, 
now  bores  its  way  round  great  rock-like  islands 
which  split  up  the  stream  into  many  channels.  The 
buffaloes  and  the  nest-like  villages  crouching  by  the 
side  of  the  creek-heads  have  faded  far  away  in  the  dis- 
tance. Below  Kiukiang  the  river  is  the  true  Chinese 
picture  which  you  can  see  gaudily  embroidered 
on  silks  and  satins.  There  are  rocky  islands  heav- 
ing high  up,  sometimes  crowned  with  quaint 
pagodas  and  small  temples;  clumps  of  sage-green 
trees  which  make  brilliant  patches  of  colour  on  the 
dark  background ; great  arms  of  limitless  water 
opening  up  to  the  right  and  left,  proving  that  dur- 
ing the  summer  flood-time  the  Yangtsze  may  be 
dozens  of  miles  broad.  The  red-painted  beacon- 
boats  with  their  lonely  native  lightkeepers  — forming 
part  of  Sir  Robert  Hart’s  great'  system  — become 


70 


SLX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


CHAP. 


more  and  more  frequent;  the  Yangtsze  encountering 
obstacles  it  does  not  love,  against  which  its  flood- 
waters  battle  in  vain,  is  here  in  a querulous  mood. 
It  ranges  round  rocky  islands  with  a swift-flowing 
current,  and  far  and  near  are  patches  of  miniature 
maelstroms,  prosaically  called  chow-chow  water  by 
the  matter-of-fact  Chinaman,  who  knows  that  such 
whirling  places  are  made  to  engulf  him. 

Thus  on  the  third  day  with  the  ever  shifting 
panorama  you  approach  Kiukiang,  another  little 
port  separated  from  the  outer  world  and  sunk  in  the 
middle  of  vast  inland  China. 

A few  miles  below  the  town  the  river  opens  out  on 
the  right  bank  into  the  vast  and  shallow  Poyang 
Lake,  which  native  steam-launches  and  miniature 
steamers  are  beginning  to  furrow,  displacing  the 
junk  of  yore.  A red  bluff  of  land  pushes  up  to 
you,  you  round  a bend  of  the  river,  and  Kiukiang, 
one  of  the  earliest  ports  settled  by  the  white  man 
after  the  Taipings  had  been  crushed,  is  before  you. 
There  is  the  same  little  foreign  Settlement,  pressed 
in  between  the  water  and  the  Chinese  city  walls; 
the  same  line  of  hulks,  the  same  little  bund;  and 
withal  a heat  more  crushing  than  any  you  have  as 
yet  experienced  along  the  river.  Kiukiang  has  the 
questionable  reputation  of  possessing  the  hottest 
summer  in  the  whole  of  China. 

In  full  view  of  everything  and  occupying  the 
best  site,  a Roman  Catholic  church,  massive  and 
calculated  to  impress  the  Chinese  mind,  rears  itself 
high  above  everything  else.  All  along  the  river 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


71 


you  notice  these  Roman  Catholic  churches,  either 
crowning  the  crests  of  hills  or  pushing  into  the  front 
rank  at  the  water’s  edge,  every  site  carefully  chosen 
by  the  master-priests  of  the  mother  Church,  so  that 
the  power  and  dignity  of  the  See  of  Rome  shall  be 
properly  impressed  on  Chinese  minds.  And  whilst 
at  Kiukiang  the  summer  heat  beats  down  on  every- 
thing and  crushes  the  life  out  of  everyone.  Catholic 
priests  still  hold  their  services  with  a determination 
which  is  praiseworthy.  Always  patient,  always 
painstaking,  Catholicism  still  dreams  of  converting 
all  China. 

Once  this  little  Settlement  was  closely  connected 
with  British  markets,  for  before  the  Ceylon  and 
Assam  gardens  killed  China  teas  it  was  from  here 
that  immense  quantities  of  the  fragrant  tea-leaf  were 
packed  and  shipped  to  London.  Then  tea-tasters, 
a now  fast-vanishing  race,  came  in  their  dozens 
and  stood  all  day  long  in  cool  rooms  tasting 
and  retasting,  until  their  palates  would  serve 
them  no  more,  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  cups 
of  cold  tea,  the  samples  of  countless  square- 
chested boxes  awaiting  shipment  to  the  London 
markets.  These  were  the  days  when  fortunes  were 
easily  made  in  China.  The  port  was  a bustle, 
steamers  came  and  went,  and  out  on  the  plains 
beyond  the  city  a race-course  was  laid  out  by 
prosperous  tea-men.  That  was  in  the  ’sixties  and 
’seventies.  Then  Ceylon  and  Assam  began  their 
competition,  and  soon  Kiukiang  was  killed  dead, 
unable  to  produce  such  strong-tasting  crops  as  its 


72 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


Indian  rivals.  On  the  plains  you  can  still  see  a few 
rotting  timbers  rounded  after  the  manner  of  race- 
course rails;  it  is  all  that  remains  of  the  old  days. 

In  the  native  city  there  is  but  one  thing  to  be 
seen  — the  once  far-famed  porcelain  of  the  Kin-te- 
chen  factories,  where  the  priceless  pieces  of  Imperial 
china  used  to  be  manufactured.  But  even  this 
industry  has  fallen  into  decay,  and  now  coarse 
modern  ware  of  but  little  value  takes  the  place  of 
the  former  exquisite  productions.  Sometimes,  after 
a long  talk,  a shopkeeper  will  produce  a piece  that 
has  been  secreted  away  since  long  ago  and  is  an 
example  of  the  old  style.  But  even  such  are  hard 
to  find  now,  for  modern  commercialism  has  caused 
everything  of  value  to  be  bought  up  by  native 
speculators  who  understand  what  prices  such  things 
now  command.  Sweltering  in  the  heat,  full  of 
noisome  smells,  oppressed  by  its  fallen  fortunes, 
Kiukiang  is  the  damned  of  all  places  in  summer. 
Not  a leaf  stirs,  not  a breath  can  be  drawn  without 
gasping,  and  in  the  mid-day  sun  even  the  coolies 
stagger  and  swear  it  is  too  hot  for  work.  Here  the 
mercury  can  steal  up  far  above  ioo°  Fahrenheit  and 
remain  there  night  and  day  for  weeks  and  weeks. 

As  you  wait  for  a few  tea-chests  that  dribble  aboard 
to  the  tune  of  an  exhausted  yaho-ing,  the  climate- 
handicap  which  has  kept  the  East  back  for  so  many 
years  is  impressed  on  you.  How  can  men  work 
when  for  many  weeks  of  the  year  the  mercury 
wanders  up  and  down  between  95°  and  105°  in  the 
shade  night  and  day?  The  white  man^s  soul  is 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


73 


eaten  out  of  him ; even  the  yellow  man  cannot 
support  it;  and  it  is  this  which,  having  gone  on  for 
ages,  has  given  the  inhabitants  of  such  climes  the 
characteristics  which  they  now  possess.  The  winter, 
a short  winter  with  raw  winds,  only  brings  fever  and 
chills,  because  your  pores  have  been  opened  so  long 
in  the  six  months’  summer  that  they  are  fit  for 
nothing;  spring  may  come,  or  it  may  not,  for  once 
the  cold  season  is  ended  and  the  northerly  winds 
have  ceased  blowing,  the  sun  shines  crushingly  and 
raises  the  temperature  of  the  still  air  higher  and 
higher  with  the  rapidity  which  only  belongs  to 
elementary  things.  Thus  it  can  be  a white  man’s 
country  only  for  one  generation;  after  that  the  breed 
sinks  to  the  Eastern  level  as  it  has  done  in  old 
Portuguese  Macao. 

Not  a minute  too  soon  Kiukiang  melts  away  in 
the  hazy  atmosphere,  and,  445  miles  from  Shanghai, 
you  pound  onwards,  welcoming  a faint  movement 
which  stirs  the  air.  The  next  morning  it  is  another 
province,  Hupeh,  the  fourth  since  your  travels 
began. 

The  river  has  now  freed  itself  from  the  mountains, 
and  limitless  plains  once  more  stretch  away  — fat 
plains  full  of  everlasting  food.  Enormous  wooden 
rafts  become  more  and  more  frequent,  rafts  that  float 
down  river  stolidly  and  take  very  often  half-a-year 
from  their  point  of  departure  to  their  destination.  On 
such  queer  craft  are  whole  families  of  people  in  straw 
and  bamboo  huts,  with  poultry,  dogs,  and  pigs 
wandering  about  as  unconcernedly  as  if  they  were 


74 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE  chap. 


on  terra  firma.  Smoke,  too,  rises  from  the  chimneys 
of  this  floating  village,  and  as  your  proud  steamer 
passes,  women  come  out  of  doors,  gaze  for  a 
moment,  and  then  climb  down  wooden  steps  to  the 
water’s  edge  to  bale  rice-water  into  their  pots  and 
pans.  The  rafts  which  anchor  at  night  call  a 
curious  artifice  to  their  aid  when  they  are  navigated 
down-stream  by  day  on  the  flowing  tide.  Sampans 
leave,  weighted  down  with  huge  sea-anchors,  and 
making  for  the  middle  of  the  river  cast  these  into 
the  deep.  The  sea-anchor,  a great  structure  of 
matting  and  timber  held  into  position  by  big  stones, 
sinks  just  low  enough  to  grip  the  water,  and  then 
the  raftsmen,  a thousand  yards  off  on  their  floating 
village,  start  heaving  in  on  an  enormous  bamboo- 
built  drum,  fifty  men  hauling  together  to  a vast 
shouting  with  a headman  beating  time  and  leading 
off  the  choruses.  It  is  a primitive  but  wonderfully 
effective  method,  and  by  such  means  the  rafts,  so 
heavily  freighted  with  their  own  wood  that  they 
draw  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  of  water,  keep  the  deep- 
water channels  and  avoid  the  treacherous  shallows 
from  which  they  could  never  be  dragged  without 
unbuilding. 

The  population,  too,  along  the  banks  has  changed, 
for  those  who  have  eyes  to  see  and  ears  that  under- 
stand. Already  at  Chinkiang  the  first  port,  the  soft 
speech  and  lisping  sibilants  of  the  cotton  and  silk 
Yangtsze  delta,  and  the  gentle  people  who  fell  such 
an  easy  prey  to  the  Taipings,  have  disappeared,  and 
the  half-North,  which  is  Southern  Mandarin,  is 


I 


SIX  HUNDRED  MILES  UP  THE  YANGTSZE 


75 


breaking  through.  At  Nanking  the  difference  has 
been  even  more  marked;  at  Wuhu  and  Kiukiang  the 
gutturals  are  decided,  the  people  sturdier  and 
rougher;  and  in  Hupeh  and  in  Hunan  provinces  the 
last  traces  of  the  river-mouth  have  disappeared. 

On  the  fourth  day  clay-red  Hupeh  province  with 
sage-green  grasses  and  vegetation  becomes  more  and 
more  apparent,  and  the  river  winds  its  way  entranc- 
ingly  over  plains  which  grow  greater  and  greater  in 
expanse.  You  feel  you  are  far  from  the  sea  and 
deep  in  the  interior.  Light-hued  junks  of  golden 
bean-oil  colour  fling  up  their  canvases  in  an  azure 
sky;  the  air  is  clearer  and  drier,  the  buffaloes  are  of 
smaller  but  more  graceful  build.  At  last  away  on 
in  the  distance  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  there 
is  a long  brick  line ; a high  hill  in  the  middle ; 
steamers  are  pufiing  this  way  and  that;  there  are 
railway  bridges  curving  away  inland.  It  is  Hankow, 
mile  644  up  river,  a middle  point  of  the  Middle 
Kingdom  and  destined  to  become  one  of  the  great 
centres  of  the  world.  The  raw  Yangtsze  has  been 
left  behind. 


CHAPTER  II 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 

As  you  slip  through  the  water  and  the  haze  of 
buildings  becomes  clearer,  you  realise  that  the  old- 
time  little  river-ports  have  been  left  far  behind  and 
that  you  are  approaching  a second  Shanghai  — a 
Shanghai  over  six  hundred  miles  from  its  prototype, 
a city  placed  in  the  heart  of  China  at  the  junction 
of  great  and  small  waterways,  with  rich  and  almost 
virgin  provinces  full  of  hardy  people  massed  about 
it  on  every  point  of  the  compass.  And  if  you  know 
your  Manchuria,  you  will  also  say  that  Hankow  is 
destined  to  be  the  Harbin  of  four  great  Chinese 
provinces  — that  it  will  soon  have  mills  and  factories 
in  quantities;  railways  linking  it  with  Peking  in  the 
North  and  Canton  in  the  South;  steamers  and  tow- 
boats in  ever  increasing  numbers  throbbing  up  the 
six  hundred  miles  of  water  to  its  wharves  which  are 
the  termini  of  the  main  river;  smaller  shallow-draft 
craft  going  in  far  greater  numbers  than  at  present 
four  hundred  miles  higher  up  to  Ichang,  which  is 
the  highest  navigable  point  for  steam  on  the 
Yangtsze;  yet  smaller  boats  driving  350  miles  in 

76 


CH.  II 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


77 


another  direction  up  the  Hsiang  River  to  Changsha, 
capital  of  anti-foreign  Hunan  — in  a v7ord,  everything 
conspiring  to  make  the  middle  point  of  the  Middle 
Kingdom,  with  its  water  and  rail  communication  in 
every  possible  direction,  and  one  hundred  millions  of 
people  within  easy  touch  of  it,  a place  which  will 
become  one  of  the  chief  centres  of  the  East. 

The  left  bank  pulls  nearer,  and  there  are  steel 
railway-bridges  crossing  the  inevitable  creeks,  and 
heaving  away  to  the  North,  where  they  melt  in  the 
distance  to  faint  spikes  of  steel.  Presently  a train 
rattles  away,  keeping  within  eye-sight  of  the  river 
until  it  feels  safe,  and  then  plunging  due  north  on 
the  Peking  road.  Four  miles  down  river  from  the 
old  steamer  wharves  are  new,  non-British  steamers 
discharging  steel  carriage-wheels  in  thousands  and 
other  great  masses  of  bridge-parts,  cranes,  rails, 
bolts  and  bars  — all  the  scores  of  things  necessary  to 
complete  more  than  a thousand  kilometres  of  rail- 
way. The  river-banks,  until  now  happy  to  remain 
mere  Yangtsze  mud,  are  being  already  bunded  here 
with  masonry  and  cement,  and  in  two  years’  time  the 
Hankow  bund  will  sweep  majestically  along  five 
miles  of  river-front  from  the  old  English  Settlement 
to  the  end  of  the  new  Belgian  railway  concession. 

New  Hankow  is  now  close  before  one  with  the 
foreign  Settlements  succeeding  one  another  every 
half  a mile.  Handsome  red-brick  buildings  are 
springing  up  everywhere  along  this  fine  water-front, 
and  from  the  tops  of  Consulates  the  flags  of  half  the 
nations  of  Europe  hang  listlessly  in  the  hot  air. 


78' 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


CHAP. 


Rickshaws,  which  were  unknown  ten  years  ago 
outside  of  Shanghai,  hurry  along  in  their  hundreds; 
coolies,  with  their  heads  protected  from  the  sun  by 
the  big  Hupeh  hats  of  flapping  straw,  hurry  bricks 
and  building  materials  along.  New  Hankow  is 
rapidly  rising,  and  all  are  in  a hurry  to  get  rich. 

At  the  British  Settlement  your  steamer  grunts 
contentedly  and  heaves  alongside  the  wharf.  Its 
.up-river  journey  is  now  finished,  and  in  a few  hours 
it  will  be  scudding  rapidly  down-stream  pushed 
along  by  the  mighty  current  with  the  quickness  of 
a cruiser.  Here  are  many  steamers  flying  the  red 
ensign;  the  Englishman  is  still  safe  on  water,  but 
every^vhere  else  there  are  signs  that  a bitter  fight 
will  soon  come  even  here. 

The  gang-planks  are  hardly  down  before  you  are 
wrestling  ’tween  decks  to  force  your  way  through 
the  native  hotel-runners,  who  tear  the  sleeping  mats 
and  bundles  from  the  hands  of  fellow  provincials 
returning  from  down-river  and  by  much  frantic 
yelling  seek  to  secure  custom.  Before  you  have 
moved  ten  paces  the  unloading  has  already  com- 
menced, and  Kiukiang  tea  and  bales  of  merchandise 
are  trooping  out  violently  past  your  legs  to  a din 
that  hangs  irritatingly  in  the  hot  air.  On  the  great 
river  you  are  conscious,  as  nowhere  else,  of  the  raw 
state  the  trade  of  China  is  still  in.  It  is  brute 
humanity  wrestling  noisily  for  its  few  wants  and 
tearing  exchange  products  from  its  plains. 

A rickshaw  deposits  you  at  a hotel  which  would 
have  been  an  impossibility  a few  years  ago.  There 


n 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


79 


are  great  darkened  verandahs  and  swinging  pun- 
kahs, iced  beer  pouring  from  the  cask  to  your  throat 
with  a rapidity  which  enchants  you,  and  a list  of 
visitors  which  makes  you  wonder  whether  Hankow 
has  become  a Cairo.  The  hotel-manager,  who  is  of 
course  a German,  energetically  handling  things  and 
making  money  with  the  thermometer  over  the 
hundred  mark,  is  smiling,  and  on  his  face  you 
read  the  happiness  which  comes  from  dollars.  A 
year  ago  the  hotel,  a structure  of  brick  like  the 
whole  string  of  hostelries  from  Suez  to  Singapore, 
was  in  the  hands  of  an  Englishman.  The  hotel  lost 
money  in  a more  and  more  disastrous  fashion,  and 
the  British  shareholders  ground  their  teeth.  Then 
the  useful,  careful  German  came  along  — an  ordinary 
enough  man,  but  with  the  capacity  for  taking  in- 
finite pains.  He  was  nobody,  but  had  saved  a little 
money.  Soon  he  had  talked  to  other  Germans,  and 
together  they  leased  the  hotel  for  ten  years.  Losses 
were  soon  turned  into  profits,  and  one  day,  it  being 
the  end  of  the  month,  when  dollars  made  him  wax 
familiar,  the  manager  laid  a heavy  hand  on  my 
shoulder,  and  offering  me  the  freedom  of  his  bar  — I 
state  this  deliberately  as  a warning  to  all  other 
Germans  — confided  to  me  over  iced  beer  that  he 
had  made  three  hundred  pounds  in  thirty  days.  A 
few  weeks  before,  the  Kaiser^s  third  son,  who  is 
serving  in  the  German  Asiatic  squadron,  had  pre- 
sided over  a dinner  at  which  were  present  all  good 
Germans  on  the  middle  Yangtsze.  One  hundred 
and  fifty-six  men  had  sat  down,  and  from  inland 


8o 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


CHAP. 


places  came  many  telegrams  of  regret  that  no 
appearance  could  be  put  in.  In  three  or  four  years 
there  would  be  five  hundred  and  fifty-six,  mine  host 
confidently  stated,  and  Germany,  in  the  heart  of  the 
British  sphere,  would  be  cutting  the  ground  away 
from  under  the  Englishman’s  very  feet. 

And  it  is  not  only  the  Germans  who  are  making 
such  efforts  here  in  this  important  place,  for  there 
are  many  others,  as  will  be  shortly  shown.  All  these 
people  are  ardently  supported  by  their  Governments, 
who  push  their  various  schemes  with  energy,  resolu- 
tion, and  purpose ; and  although  England  in  the 
British  Settlement  and  on  the  river  is,  for  the  time 
being,  holding  her  own,  there  is  danger  that  unless 
the  British  Government  tries  to  understand  better 
the  nature  of  Continental  scheming,  this  will  not 
remain  long  so.  For  the  time  being  there  are  five 
hundred  British  subjects  on  the  Hankow  Consular 
registers;  British  shipping  occupies,  too,  the  premier 
place ; the  British  Settlement  is  the  centre  of  all 
activity.  But  the  Germans  have  an  increasing 
interest  both  on  water  and  on  land;  the  Japanese 
are  cutting  in  carefully  and  cautiously;  French  and 
Belgian  firms  are  splitting  up  into  many  parts  and 
then  taking  away  the  growing  business  of  the  place, 
which  was  formerly  conducted  by  a few  great  houses. 
Each  nationality,  having  realised  the  immense  pos- 
sibilities of  the  future  here,  is  active  and  busy ; 
alone  the  British  and  the  Russians  keep  to  the  old 
traditions.  They  are  the  two  most  careless  and 
casual  peoples  in  the  world. 


n 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


8i 


It  is  a curious  thing  that  the  Russians,  who  every- 
where else  have  been  our  rivals,  should  here  be  our 

allies.  But  it  is  a fact.  Since  the  old  days  they 

have  been  established  on  the  middle  Yangtsze  as 
great  traders  in  China  teas,  and  although  England 
has  forsaken  this  part  of  the  world  for  India  and 
Ceylon,  the  Russians  still  remain  true  to  their  first 
love.  Their  sweet-smelling  godowns  — how  sweet 
tea  smells  when  it  is  stacked  mountain  high  in 

countless  chests,  no  man  can  write  — still  lie  in  the 
old  British  Settlement ; their  tea  factories,  where 
the  fragrant  leaf  is  compressed  into  bricks  which 

can  travel  on  camel  over  the  caravan-routes,  and 
their  tea  buying,  are  still  conducted  by  English 
experts.  Some  of  the  tea  travels  straight  from  here 
to  Odessa  in  vessels  of  the  Volunteer  Fleet,  or  did 
before  the  war;  part  goes  to  North  China,  and  is 
then  conveyed  slowly  and  painfully  over  a thousand 
miles  of  desert  until  it  reaches  Siberia  and  holy 
Russia  itself.  But  no  matter  by  what  road,  the 
cargoes  are  always  moving. 

In  the  old  days  the  brick-tea  factories  were 
true  manufactories  — that  is,  places  where  the  labour 
and  crushing  was  all  done  by  hand  on  wooden 
machinery.  In  those  days  the  dark  godowns,  filled 
with  hundreds  of  brawny  natives  stripped  stark 
naked  and  straining  themselves  in  the  great  summer 
heat  until  the  sweat  poured  off  their  bodies  in 
streams,  were  sights  to  be  seen  and  remembered. 
With  choruses  and  cries  the  coolies  would  fling 
themselves  by  dozens  on  the  wooden  lever-beams. 


VOL.  I — G 


82 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


CHAP. 


a picked  headman  of  brawny  muscle  leading  each 
gang,  and  cr-r-r-ush,  so  that  you  could  understand 
the  whole  process  with  your  ears,  the  dampened  tea- 
leaves  would  fall  into  the  solid  little  caravan  blocks. 
Now  that  has  passed  away,  and  modern  machinery 
does  the  work.  But  from  the  factories  come  the 
same  strong  whiff  of  the  East,  the  same  pungent 
smells,  which  make  you  know  that  you  are  in  a land 
where  steel  and  iron  are  still  only  experiments. 

The  great  war,  however,  is  at  last  making  itself 
felt  here.  The  former  Russian  friendship  with 
Englishmen  is  fast  vanishing,  for  the  fact  that  we 
are  allies  with  the  Japanese  is  more  than  any  friend- 
ship can  endure.  For  weeks  the  news  of  the  bitter 
defeats  has  been  laughed  at  on  the  Yangtsze,  and 
all  have  said  — “Wait  until  Russia’s  real  strength  is 
felt.”  But  now  the  weeks  have  grown  into  months, 
and  Kuropatkin  cannot  move;  and  in  every  heart  a 
foreboding  of  what  is  to  come  is  felt  for  the  first 
time. 

Thus,  whilst  the  war  rolls  on,  a dozen  problems 
are  being  worked  out  or  are  awaiting  solution  in  far- 
off  Hankow.  Before  the  events  of  1895  and  1898 
no  one  else  had  Concessions  or  Settlements  in  this 
all-important  place  but  England.  Then,  because  it 
was  plainly  seen  that  England  would  not  move  a 
finger  to  arrest  the  break-up  of  China,  every 
nationality  pressed  forward,  and  five  new  Settle- 
ment-Concessions had  to  be  granted  by  China  — to 
Germany,  to  Russia,  to  France,  to  Japan,  and  even 
to  insignificant  Belgium.  And  not  only  this,  but 


II 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


83 


through  our  negligence  we  allowed  the  granting  of 
the  grand  trunk  railway  from  Peking  to  Hankow, 
which  will  have  a total  length  of  1,200  kilometres, 
to  be  given  to  the  Belgians;  and  since  1900  things 
have  altered  materially  in  a way  which  does  not 
promise  well  for  our  future.  Already  the  railway  is 
working  along  many  of  its  sections  and  bringing 
down  great  quantities  of  produce  which  all  Conti- 
nentals take  good  care  is  not  handled  by  English- 
men. Already  the  French  — people  who  do  not 
well  understand  how  to  trade,  however  talented  they 
may  be  in  other  things  — have  so  actively  coalesced 
with  the  Belgians  that  the  Belgo-French  party  is  to 
all  intents  one,  solid  and  indivisible.  Already  the 
Germans,  who  until  after  Kiaochow  were  content  to 
make  much  money  by  slipping  through  the  door 
which  England  had  held  open  for  them,  are  talking 
about  their  treaty-rights  on  the  Yangtsze  and  their 
equal  rights  with  England  since  the  Anglo-German 
agreement  of  1900  made  by  Lord  Salisbury.  And 
the  Belgo-French  party,  antagonistic  to  Germany  in 
Europe,  coquets  with  the  Germans  in  Hankow, 
because  all  the  Continent  is  against  England  and 
Japan  in  China,  and  is  determined  to  make  an  end 
of  such  an  unholy  alliance,  no  matter  at  what  cost. 
They  are  pushing  in  everywhere  and  attempting  to 
cut  the  ground  from  under  our  feet. 

Alone  the  Russians  of  Hankow,  even  with  the 
war  raging,  are  too  proud  to  enter  into  a compact 
with  the  others,  and  are  now  merely  holding  aloof. 
They  have  been  here  in  Hankow  for  thirty  years. 


84 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


CH.A.P. 


and  have  too  many  traditions  to  forget  the  past 
lightly;  and  all  these  new-comers  from  the  Continent 
are  of  a rough  race  unknown  in  China  ten  years 
ago,  with  whom  other  men  do  not  easily  consort. 

If  you  cross  to  the  other  side  of  the  river  and 
enter  the  great  Chinese  city  of  Wuchang,  there 
is  equal  cause  for  dissatisfaction.  Viceroy  Chang 
Chih-tung,  foolishly  extolled  only  a few  years  ago  as 
a champion  of  progress,  holds  his  court  there  and 
dreams  foolish  dreams.  It  was  Chang  Chih-tung 
who,  with  the  defunct  Viceroy  Liu  K’un  yi,  made  the 
Yangtsze  compact  of  1900  when  the  game  in  the 
North  was  practically  lost;  and  since  then,  as  the 
missionary  party  have  smiled  upon  him  and  courted 
him,  it  is  freely  imagined  that  he  is  a fit  and  compe- 
tent person  to  lead  real  and  lasting  reform  in  China. 
And  yet  Chang  Chih-tung’s  administration  of  two 
provinces,  Hupeh  and  Hunan,  has  been  so  foolish 
and  unbusiness-like  that  he  can  never  be  allowed  to 
resign,  excepting  pressure  is  put  upon  the  Chinese 
Government,  nor  can  he  ever  be  transferred  to 
another  satrapy,  because  there  is  no  Chinese  official 
who  would  take  over  the  responsibility  of  making 
good  the  deficits  which  to-day  cripple  this  provincial 
administration.  It  is  true  that  Chang  Chih-tung 
has  done  what  he  has  done  because  he  thought  it 
meant  progress.  He  has  built  great  iron-works  at 
Hanyang ; an  enormous  mint  where  copper  and 
silver  coins  are  turned  out  night  and  day  with  no 
regard  to  the  requirements  of  the  country,  but  only 
to  the  making  of  minting  profits;  he  has  erected 


II 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


85 


cotton  mills  and  other  factories,  and  has  succeeded 
in  spending  such  vast  sums  that  all  is  now  crippled 
for  want  of  funds.  Now  he  is  exhausting  his  ener- 
gies in  attempting  to  obtain  the  Nanking  appoint- 
ment, so  that  he  may  be  able  to  wipe  out  the  many 
loans  which  are  outstanding.  Alone,  Chang  Chih- 
tung’s  troops,  German-drilled  and  Mauser-armed, 
make  a brave  show  on  parade;  but  they  have  been 
drilled  and  armed  because  their  organiser  is  becom- 
ing more  and  more  anti-foreign,  and,  with  growing 
age,  hating  with  a growing  hatred  the  foreigner  and 
his  works  — the  foreigner  who  is  pushing  in  slowly 
but  irresistibly,  and  who,  divided  up  into  rival 
camps,  is  yet  but  one  man  in  one  object  — which  is  the 
changing  of  the  whole  face  of  China  because  such 
a process  is  a paying  business. 

And  in  no  other  part  of  the  world  could  a better 
pjace,  a better  strategic  position  for  biting  into 
China,  be  found  than  Hankow.  The  place  known  as 
Hankow  is  no  single  city,  but  a triple  city  whose 
aggregate  of  inhabitants  is  supposed  to  be  more 
than  two  million  natives.  On  the  left  or  northern 
bank  of  the  Yangtsze  is  Hankow,  with  its  fast- 
growing European  settlements  spreading  out  for 
several  miles  along  the  river-bank.  Pushing  close 
to  it,  the  native  city  of  Hankow  ends  only  with  the 
river  Han,  which  enters  the  Yangtsze  a couple  of 
thousand  yards  above  the  foreign  town.  Then 
immediately  on  the  other  bank  of  the  Han  is  the 
city  of  Hanyang,  with  Pagoda  Hill  towering  above 
it,  and  a great  city  spreading  out  everywhere  it  can 


86 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


CHAP. 


without  falling  into  the  water.  In  this  Hanyang 
city  are  the  iron  and  steel  works,  the  arsenal  and 
explosive  factories,  huge  establishments  employing 
many  thousands  of  men  supervised  by  a handful 
of  foreigners,  of  whom  continentals  are  the 
majority.  In  the  steel  works  there  is  a giant 
Siemens-Martin  furnace,  a Bessemer  furnace,  a 
big  steel  rail  mill,  and  other  plants.  From  the 
adjacent  Ping-hsiang  coal-mines  fuel  comes  by  the 
thousand  tons,  carried  all  the  way  by  water. 
From  the  Tieh  Shan  mines  iron  ore  pours  in, 
making  the  works  independent  of  all  foreign 
supplies.  At  the  Government  arsenal  there  is  a 
splendidly  appointed  rifle-factory  turning  out  the 
most  modern  Mauser  rifles  by  the  thousand;  a big 
gun  factory  where  everything  down  to  the  last 
screw  is  made;  a powder  mill  where  gun-cotton  and 
every  modern  high  explosive  can  be  produced  in 
limitless  quantities.  In  Hanyang,  the  Viceroy  is 
preparing  all  that  is  necessary  to  arm  the 

Yangtsze;  in  Wuchang  he  is  minting  night  and  day 
to  make  profits  to  pay  for  it  all. 

Across  the  broad  river  is  this  third  city  — 
Wuchang,  with  its  Viceregal  Yamens,  its  brigades 
of  modern  troops,  its  Westernised  schools  and  its 
ancient  Viceroy.  Along  the  Wuchang  river  front 
another  European  Settlement,  authorised  by 
Imperial  decree,  is  also  springing  up,  and  red-brick 
buildings  and  neatly  made  wharves  line  the  water. 

Shut  in  by  the  immense  Chinese  cities  the 
European  has  managed  to  secure  for  himself  a 


II 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


87 


narrow  foothold  on  this  most  chosen  of  spots,  and 
now,  backed  by  his  various  Governments,  he  will 
make  yet  greater  efforts  to  extend  his  hold,  — each 
race  hoping  that  the  big  slices  will  finally  be  theirs. 

Climb  up  to  the  top  of  Pagoda  Hill  and  survey 
from  there  the  scene  of  all  this  activity  and  rival 
ambitions.  Below,  the  triple  city,  with  its  teeming 
millions,  blackens  three  irregular  patches.  Between, 
beyond,  and  behind,  is  nothing  but  water;  first  the 
magnificent  Yangtsze,  here  more  than  a mile  wide 
though  it  is  six  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth;  then 
the  canal-like  Han  River ; to  the  north-west  and 
south-west  enormous  lakes  and  lagoons  in  limitless 
and  glittering  expanse.  Farther  on  you  divine 
more  rivers,  more  canals,  and  more  creeks  — only 
water,  nothing  but  water ; and  on  them  countless 
boats  and  junks  sailing  and  yulohing  in  every 
direction  proclaim  the  greatness  of  river  power. 
From  far  and  from  near  men  and  merchandise  are 
pushing  in  slowly  to  this  central  point  and  claiming 
its  hospitality.  Already  the  Chinese  have  realised 
what  this  spot  will  be  in  a very  few  years,  and 
speculators  are  eagerly  buying  up  land  and  houses. 
And  as  the  setting  sun  paints  everything  in  flaming 
colours,  and  the  cloudless  skies  turn  beautiful  blood- 
reds  and  divine  pinks,  you  see  everybody  still  busy 
although  night  is  coming  on.  The  soil  is  clay- 
red,  the  vegetation  Nile-green ; for  with  such 
abundance  of  water  nothing  can  languish  even  in 
the  great  heat;  and  where  there  is  abundant  water 
there  is  abundant  rice. 


88 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


CHAP. 


Far  beyond  Hankow  you  may  voyage  another 
thousand  miles  up  the  river  mostly  by  junk,  until 
Chungking  is  reached  in  the  heart  of  Szechuen 
province.  So  far  Szechuen  has  only  been  reached 
commercially  by  following  the  Yangtsze;  but  from 
their  Tonking  frontier  the  French  are  steadily  at 
work  in  the  South,  and  the  day  may  not  be  as  far 
off  as  people  expect  when  railways  leading  up  from 
Yunnan  province  may  tear  from  Hankow  the  hand- 
ling of  the  trade  from  the  upper  river.  Beyond 
Ichang,  which  is  four  hundred  miles  farther  up  than 
this,  swirling  rapids  make  steam  navigation  an 
impossibility ; and  the  clumsy  junks  hauled  by 
immense  bamboo  cables,  which  must  spend  so 

many  weeks  on  the  journey,  are  the  only  means 
of  reaching  Western  China.  Railways  may  there- 
fore have  a chance  even  against  Chinese  waters, 

and  if  the  Franco-Belgian  groups  can  manage  to 
obtain  control  of  the  Canton  railway,  as  they  have 
of  the  Peking,  railways  will  play  as  important 
a part  as  water  has  in  the  past  in  opening  up  this 
country.  On  the  great  river  itself  the  Germans 
have  proclaimed  that  they  have  now  equal  rights 
with  ourselves,  and  are  attempting  to  bring  Shan- 
tung and  their  Kiaochow  colony  into  direct  rail 

communication  with  this  Yangtsze  waterway.  Each 
nationality  now  posted  in  Hankow  can  survey  its 

dreams  from  the  top  of  this  Pagoda  Hill ; from 
many  points  of  the  compass  they  reach  out  towards 
this  place. 

Below,  a yellow-painted  steamer  hoots  as  she 


II 


HANKOW  AND  THE  BEYOND 


89 


swings  into  the  anchorage ; farther  on  are  the 
hump-backed  railway  bridges  of  the  trunk  line  that 
is  already  nearing  completion;  the  trumpets  of  the 
Viceroy’s  troops  ring  out;  China  and  non-China  are 
each  working  steadfastly  away,  and  no  one  can  say 
which  will  finally  win.  In  any  case  Hankow  is  a 
place  which  in  five  or  ten  years  will  be  well  known 
all  the  world  over,  and  in  twenty-five  will  be  one  of 
the  most  important  trading  places  in  Asia. 


CHAPTER  III 

SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 

To  most  people  the  Chinaman  is  mainly  a person 
with  a pigtail.  Sometimes  observers  as  gifted  as 
Lord  Curzon  have  done  him  the  honour  of  setting 
him  down  as  belonging  to  an  unlovely  but  admir- 
able people,  but  this  is  somewhat  rare.  In  the 
main  he  still  appears  the  curious  creature  of  the 
Canton  tea  and  opium  days,  and  the  many  classes, 
varieties,  species,  and  even  peoples  into  which  he 
may  be  divided  are  things  quite  ignored. 

And  yet,  though  possessing  none  of  the  pictur- 
esqueness of  the  races  of  India,  and  but  far  less  of 
their  diversity,  the  Chinese  are  a many-sided  people 
who  have  travelled  very  far  in  many  ways,  have 
assimilated  as  many  nations  as  Russia,  and  even 
to-day  to  the  initiated  show  the  signs  of  all  these 
things.  Let  us  recapitulate  from  another  point  of 
view  what  has  been  told  in  the  Historical  Prologue 
to  this  book. 

When  the  early  Chinese  fathers  moved  to  the 
Far  East  they  first  reached,  as  has  already  been 
shown,  the  old  province  of  Shensi,  at  the  head- 


90 


CH.  m SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


91 


waters  of  the  Yellow  River.  To  the  north  of  them 
must  have  been  horsemen  tribes,  for  this  is  the 
horse  country;  to  the  south,  flat-chested  aborigines 
of  the  Annamite  type  who  were  water-travelling 
people.  Looking  about  him  with  his  shrewd  eyes, 
the  early  Chinese,  pushing  forward  along  the  line  of 
least  resistance,  made  due  east  to  the  sea.  Presently 
he  stood  on  the  shores  of  the  Yellow  Sea,  and  with 
his  numbers  largely  reinforced  by  the  flux  of  time, 
was  soon  able  to  move  a little  north,  and  also  a 
little  south.  From  the  Yellow  River  belt,  already 
his  very  own,  he  pushed  forward  his  colonies 
of  thrifty  people,  gaining  the  country  and  bringing 
it  under  his  sway  merely  foot  by  foot.  This  was 
very  long  ago. 

Later  he  had  approached  so  close  to  the  Father 
of  all  Far  Eastern  Waters,  the  Great  Yangtsze, 
that  he  saw  that  water  must  take  the  place  of  roads. 
The  Chinaman,  who  in  the  first  instance  must  have 
known  but  little  of  such  things,  became  henceforth, 
a fresh-water  sailor,  and  in  the  quiet  ages  of  long 
ago  possessed  himself  of  a skill  in  handling  heavy 
boats  and  manoeuvring  them  through  all  difficulties, 
which  is  to-day  the  admiration  of  the  European 
naval  officer.  Having  reached  and  passed  south 
of  the  Yangtsze,  he  could  make  but  little  progress 
for  many  centuries.  The  original  inhabitants  of  the 
country  whom  he  had  driven  south  by  his  gradual 
advance  were  concentrating  in  the  mountains  and 
difficult  lands  of  Central  China,  whilst  to  the  far 
north  the  horsemen  tribes,  living  on  bitter  plains 


92 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  chap. 


exposed  to  the  scorching  heat  of  summer  suns  and  the 
death-like  cold  of  winter  blizzards,  looked  with  in- 
creasing envy  and  growing  hostility  on  these  fat 
colonies  of  industrious  men  and  women  who  throve 
so  much.  These  were  the  days  when  China  was 
the  land  of  Sinim  — very  ancient  even  among  ancient 
countries. 

Presently  the  northern  pest  became  more  and 
more  threatening,  and  the  Chinese  throne,  which 
perhaps  was  founded  on  early  Babylonian  traditions, 
and  which  had  grown  with  the  growth  of  the  people, 
saw  that  steps  must  be  taken  to  separate  the  peace- 
ful colonies  from  the  marauding  tribes  of  the  North. 
Thousands  of  years  ago  walls  too  feeble  to  resist 
the  elements  were  begun  in  the  mountains  to  the 
north  of  Shensi  and  Shansi,  and  twenty-two  cen- 
turies ago  the  Great  Wall  of  China  itself,  which 
stands  defiant  to  this  day,  was  erected  by  a resolute 
Emperor. 

Meanwhile  the  growth  of  the  early  settlements 
from  little  colonies  into  vast  provinces  had  seen 
philosophers,  inventors,  poets,  and  great  men  born 
and  die.  At  least  two  or  three  thousand  years  ago 
the  early  Chinese  had  reached  the  point  Europe 
attained  after  the  Renaissance.  The  Southern 
provinces,  left  untouched  for  many  centuries,  now 
saw  Chinese  adventurers  sailing  round  by  sea  from 
Yangtsze,  thus  avoiding  the  mountains,  and  pushing 
resolutely  into  hostile  places.  These  adventurers,  the 
forerunners  of  a gradual  invasion,  established  them- 
selves in  Fuhkien,  in  Kwangtung,  in  Kwangsi,  and 


m 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


93 


far  down  into  Annam  and  Cochin  China,  bringing 
with  them  their  customs  and  their  civilisation.  In 
time  these  men  married  native  wives,  and  were  in 
sufficient  numbers*  to  establish  independent  princi- 
palities by  virtue  of  their  superior  intelligence;  and 
thus  very  slowly  and  gradually  the  Chinaman  assi- 
milated all  tribes  and  nations  almost  down  to  the 
Red  River. 

In  this  wise  the  Middle  Kingdom,  the  centre  of 
the  world,  arose  and  grew  richer  and  richer.  Some- 
times internal  dissensions  snapped  off  whole  satrapies 
from  the  control  of  the  Chinese  throne  and  led  to 
the  establishment  of  separate  principalities.  But  in 
the  end  such  temporary  revolts,  lasting  perhaps  for 
decades  and  perhaps  for  centuries,  collapsed,  and 
the  Emperor,  Son  of  Heaven,  once  more  came 
to  his  own. 

It  was  not  until  very  modern  times,  a thousand 
years  or  so  ago,  that  the  horsemen  tribes  had  grown 
sufficiently  strong  and  numerous  to  break  through 
the  artificial  and  natural  barriers  which  separated 
them  from  their  prey.  Then  Kin  and  Kitan  Tartars 
poured  in  and  penetrated  all  North  China.  For 
a long  time  they  were  continually  flung  back,  but 
at  last  owing  to  their  military  virtues  they  established 
themselves  in  the  form  of  kingdoms  on  Chinese 
soil,  and  marrying  Chinese  virgins  began  that  mixing 
of  blood  which,  together  with  the  climatic  action, 
has  made  of  the  northern  Chinese  the  hardiest  people 
it  is  possible  to  find.  After  Manchurian  Tartars 
came  the  Mongols,  who  swept  all  over  China  like  a 


94 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  chap. 


wave,  and  for  a few  short  decades  ruled  with  an 
iron  military  rule.  Then  their  strength  was  broken, 
and  once  more  the  Chinese  people  reasserted  them- 
selves. For  three  centuries  the  outer  north,  Mon- 
golia and  Manchuria,  decimated  by  all  these  bloody 
wars,  was  content  to  let  China  Proper  alone;  but  in 
the  seventeenth  century  the  modern  Manchus,  feel- 
ing their  growing  strength,  began  to  strike  at  the 
Chinese  settlers,  who,  marvellous  people,  had  al- 
ready flooded  half  Southern  Manchuria.  The 
struggle  ended  in  the  seating  of  the  Manchus  on 
the  Peking  Throne,  and  in  the  establishment  of  the 
firmest  rule  China  has  ever  known.  Determined 
not  to  fall  as  the  many  other  Tartars  who  had  come 
before  them  had  fallen,  the  Manchus  took  a master 
step:  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  assimilated  by 
the  Chinese,  and  soon  became  more  Chinese  than 
the  natives  themselves  in  their  conservatism  and 
haughtiness. 

The  few  Europeans  who  had  reached  China  and 
lived  for  a space  in  the  Middle  Kingdom  before  the 
nineteenth  century  were  either  Catholic  Mission- 
aries, carrying  a knowledge  of  the  faith  in  fear  and 
trembling  to  a people  who  had  but  little  desire 
for  any  religion  but  their  ancestor-worship  and 
Buddhistic  and  Taoist  ceremonies  at  death,  or  else 
were  a handful  of  pirate-like  traders  nibbling  at  the 
Kuangtung  and  Fuhkien  ports.  The  Portuguese, 
Spanish,  and  Dutch  had  preceded  the  English. 
Then  after  the  East  India  Company  had  obtained 
a trading  charter  from  their  King,  it  began  to  de- 


m 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


95 


stroy  the  monopoly  in  Far  Eastern  trade  which  the 
earliest-comers,  these  Portuguese,  Spanish,  and 
Dutch,  thought  they  possessed;  but  for  many  de- 
cades this  trade  was  very  trifling. 

When  the  British  rule  in  India  became  more  firm, 
and,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Chinese  liking  for  opium, 
and  on  the  other  the  English  liking  for  steaming 
dishes  of  tea,  created  a demand  which  it  was  but 
natural  to  supply,  the  trade  became  more  and  more 
considerable,  until  it  was  respectable  and  important. 
It  was,  however,  confined  to  the  single  port  of 
Canton  in  the  south ; and,  excepting  from  a knowledge 
gained  by  sailing  clumsily  up  and  down  a muddy 
river  in  the  trading  brigs  and  schooners  of  the  day, 
and  by  talking  a queer  English  to  a few  hundred 
natives  congregated  round  the  old-time  factories,  no 
one  learnt  anything  worth  knowing  about  China  or 
the  Chinese.  The  country  was  still  a sealed  book. 

Then  came  the  various  wars  and  collisions  which 
finally  ended  with  the  Treaty  of  Nanking  and  the 
establishment  of  Anglo-Chinese  relations  for  the 
first  time  in  history  on  a firm  basis.  Five  ports 
were  opened  to  European  trade,  and  the  swing  of 
the  pendulum  carried  the  European  as  far  north  as 
the  mouth  of  the  Yangtsze,  which  is  only  about  half- 
way up  the  vast  coast  line,  but  was  then  counted 
Northern  China.  The  real  North  was  still  quite 
unknown. 

The  pioneer  Englishmen  brought  with  them  their 
Cantonese  from  the  South,  the  Annamite-Chinese  of 
the  old  days;  and  these  having  been  trained  to  the 


96 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  chap. 


foreigners^  ways  by  many  decades  of  factory  inter- 
course, taught  the  other  natives  the  European  point 
of  view.  For  many  years  the  Cantonese  was 
alone  deemed  worthy  to  officiate  as  servant  or  business 
go-between  between  the  white  man  and  those  of 
the  newly  tapped  provinces.  Journeying  from 
Shanghai  up  canals  to  the  rich  cities  of  Kiangsu 
and  Chehkiang,  European  eyes  looked  on  buildings 
and  artificial  landscapes  that  Marco  Polo  had 
extolled  six  centuries  before.  Almost  nothing  had 
changed.  Close  upon  the  ’sixties  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  wars  with  the  Chinese  Government 
re-commenced.  The  Anglo-French  Allies  finally 
marched  on  Peking  accompanied  by  hosts  of 
Cantonese  camp-followers,  and  beheld  for  the  first 
time  the  immense  Tartar  walls,  the  dry  country  with 
its  giant  crops  of  kiaoliang  standing  ten  feet  high, 
the  great  teams  of  mules  and  ponies  harnessed  to 
indestructible  carts,  the  tall  bronzed  people.  All 
this  was  quite  different  from  Southern  and  even 
Central  China,  for  the  latter  are  the  water  road” 
{shui  lu)  country,  whilst  the  real  North  has  nothing 
but  dust-laden  highways. 

The  wars  ended  by  finding  the  European  six 
hundred  miles  farther  north  at  Tientsien  and 
Newchwang  and  six  hundred  miles  up  the  great 
river,  the  Yangtsze.  China  was  at  last  in  a fair  way 
of  being  opened. 

The  quiet  years  which  followed  saw  Chinese  and 
Europeans  alike  trained  to  the  new  conditions. 
The  Chinese,  taught  at  the  open  ports  by  Cantonese 


Ill 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


97 


whom  they  themselves  regarded  as  strangers,  learnt 
many  things  about  the  foreigner.  The  Europeans, 
no  longer  forced  to  rely  upon  the  ancient  accounts 
of  Romish  fathers  for  their  knowledge  of  things 
Celestial,  began  to  understand  something  of  the 
vast  Empire  which  was  being  slowly  eaten  into. 
Men  crawled  slowly  by  boat  or  by  cart  all  over  the 
interior  and  listened  to  the  many  dialects  of  the 
open-mouthed  Chinese  crowds ; whilst  Chinese 
travellers  being  assured  that  the  huo-lun  ch^uan^  or 
old  paddle-wheel  steamers,  carried  quickly  and 
reliably,  began  to  come  and  go  from  open-port  to 
open-port.  Progress,  however,  was  very  slow  when 
there  were  no  wars,  for  wars  are  the  great  educators 
of  the  East.  The  French  affair  of  1884  was  too 
small  to  teach  much,  and  so  from  the  ’sixties  to  the 
’eighties  the  changes  came  about  very  slowly.  But 
in  spite  of  this  by  now  the  Cantonese  had  almost 
finished  his  school-master  work,  and  was  being 
rapidly  pushed  out  by  the  men  of  other  provinces 
who  began  to  understand  the  foreigner.  The 

use  of  English,  the  lingua  franca  of  the  East, 

had  spread  far  and  wide ; everybody  along  the 

string  of  sea-ports  and  river-ports  could  jabber 
sufficient  pidgin  to  be  understood,  except  in  the 
real  North,  where  they  are  slow  of  speech 

and  very  simple.  Progress  was  therefore  being 

made. 

It  required  the  series  of  collisions  and  disturb- 
ances, of  which  the  Chino- Japanese  war  was  the 
first,  to  make  clear  how  far  the  old  conditions  had 

VOL.  I — H 


98 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  chap. 


ceased  to  exist  and  what  a gulf  separated  China  and 
the  Chinese  of  the  early  nineteenth  century  from 
China  and  the  Chinese  of  the  century-end.  It  is 
true  the  Chinaman  still  appeared  mainly  as  a pig- 
tailed person,  but  his  ways  were  no  longer  so  dark  — 
at  least  to  the  growing  European  communities 
posted  strategically  along  two  thousand  miles  of 
coast  and  fifteen  hundred  miles  of  river.  Nor 
could  the  fact  be  lost  sight  of  that  the  exact  relations 
existing  between  province  and  province,  officials 
and  people,  north  and  south,  east  and  west,  presented 
as  many  different  aspects  as,  say,  those  of  a country 
like  Austria.  Journeying  up  from  the  single  open 
port.  Canton,  in  less  than  half  a century  the  whole 
of  China  had  been  laid  bare  and  the  country 
explored  until  every  nook  and  corner  had  been 
visited. 

Until  the  ’sixties  it  was  the  European  who  had 
been  trained  in  the  south  of  China,  and  therefore 
possessed  a warped  point  of  view,  who  was  the 
authority  on  the  Chinese  question.  Not  until  a new 
generation  of  men  had  grown  up,  trained  in  Peking 
and  the  north  of  China,  could  the  Chinese  official 
point  of  view  be  properly  understood  and  the 
provinces  and  their  inhabitants  grouped  in  a proper 
manner.  Such  masterly  books  as  Mayer’s  Chinese 
Government,  Smith’s  Chinese  Characteristics  and 
Village  Li]e  were  only  possible  because  the  North 
had  been  reached  and  the  days  of  dismal  old-school 
literature  finished.  Then  it  was  fully  realised, 
perhaps  almost  for  the  first  time,  why  there  had  been 


A River  which  will  feed  the  Railway. 


ni 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


99 


such  difficulty  in  crushing  the  Taiping  rebellion ; 
why  the  coming  of  the  European  had  been  viewed 
with  such  hostility,  and  why  the  slow  but  steady 
movement  north  from  Canton  until  Peking  was 
finally  reached,  had  struck  such  consternation  and 
dismay  into  the  hearts  of  the  ruling  caste,  the 
Manchus. 

For  China  was  most  loosely  governed,  and  it  was 
the  Chinaman  in  his  village,  or  on  his  boat,  or  toiling 
on  the  highways  of  the  Empire,  who  alone  remained 
vigorous.  The  Government,  isolated  for  so  many 
centuries  from  all  contact  with  the  outer  world  except 
from  tribute  nations,  had  allowed  the  foreign 
relations  which  had  existed  to  be  almost  entirely 
commercial  relations,  conducted  by  arrangement 
through  the  provincial  authorities  and  through  native 
merchants’  Guilds,  who  alone  knew  the  great  strength 
of  the  new-comers.  The  Government  itself  was 
content  to  carry  on  its  real  business,  the  fatherly 
control  of  the  Chinese  people,  without  much  regard 
for  anything  else,  until  it  woke  up  some  time  very 
near  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  discover, 
not  only  that  the  foreigner  was  the  real  question,  but 
that  the  people  — its  very  own  people  whom  it  pro- 
fessed to  govern  so  wisely  — had  grown  away  from 
it.  For,  around  the  now  numerous  sea  and  river 
ports  and  the  country  adjoining  them,  a population 
running  into  millions  existed  which  was  directly  or 
indirectly  interested  in  the  European  and  his  com- 
merce, and  which  nolens  volens  was  becoming  in 
certain  respects  Europeanised.  The  discovery  was 


lOO 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


CHAP. 


an  astounding  one,  and  accounts  to  some  extent 
for  the  readiness  with  which  a large  portion  of  the 
Manchu  Court  openly  sided  with  the  Boxers,  and 
advocated  the  driving  of  the  foreigner  and  his  works 
out  of  China  at  all  costs.  And  by  t^is  phrase  ‘‘the 
foreigner  and  his  works,’’  not  only  was  the  European 
included  but  also  all  Chinese  who  were  directly  or 
indirectly  interested  in  him.  The  Boxers  boldly 
divided  the  white  man  and  his  adherents  into  classes. 
Ta-Mao-tzu,  or  “long-haired  ones  of  the  first  class,” 
were  the  Europeans  themselves;  Erh-Mao-tzu,  or 
“secondary  long-haired  ones,”  were  the  Christian 
converts;  and  finally  San-Mao-tzu  were  all  those 
who  were  in  any  way  connected  with  the  foreigner, 
or  even  those  who  appeared  so  on  account  of  their 
European  proclivities.  This  alone  is  sufficient  to 

show  the  immense  strides  made  in  a cycle  of 

Cathay  — the  sixty  years  between  the  first  Nanking 
Treaty  and  the  Boxer  Year.  And  the  fact  that  the 
contemptuous  nickname  Mao-tzu  implied  those  with- 
out the  shaved  Manchu  forehead  is  another  proof 
that  the  European  and  his  adherents  were  to  be 

classed  as  quasi-rebels  — rebels  against  the  ancient 
institutions  and  ancient  customs  of  the  Empire  who 
had  been  tolerated  for  a certain  time,  but  who  would 
finally  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Taipings  had  been  treated. 

This  last  revolt  was  therefore  of  the  highest 

importance.  It  showed  clearly  that  even  the  most 
bigoted  Chinese  of  the  old  school  realised  that  the 
time  had  come  when  not  only  must  some  stop  be 


Ill 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


lOI 


put  to  the  partition  of  the  Empire  — which  had 
commenced,  according  to  them,  by  the  leases  of  the 
year  1898  — but  that  it  was  just  as  important  to  put 
a stop  to  the  disintegrating  processes  at  work  on  the 
whole  masses  of  the  Chinese  population.  According 
to  them,  there  was  great  danger  that  the  village 
and  the  family  system,  through  which  the  Central 
Government  maintained  its  hold  on  the  people, 
would  end  by  being  destroyed  through  the 
individualistic  tendencies  brought  into  existence 
by  the  European.  In  that  destruction  would  perish 
also  the  city  and  the  guild  — mere  extensions  of  the 
primitive  units.  For  all  China  is  merely  a mass  of 
villages,  which  have  sometimes  grown  into  towns,  and 
have  then  been  surrounded  at  some  remote  period 
with  high  walls  to  protect  them  from  armed  robbery 
and  countryside  rebellions ; while  the  guild  is 
merely  an  extension  of  the  family  co-operative 
system,  in  which  each  personas  relation  to  every 
other  person  occupies  a dynamic  position.  By 
intruding  itself  within  these  co-operative  institu- 
tions, under  which  the  welfare  of  the  individual 
must  be  sacrificed  to  the  welfare  of  the  community, 
the  Chinese  Government  had  slowly  built  up  its 
power  — a power  which  it  maintained  by  equipoise 
or  the  playing  off  one  set  or  combination  of 
interests  against  another.  This  entire  structure 
was  now  threatened  by  the  European.  According 
to  the  European’s  creed  and  arguments,  the 
individual  was  the  unit  and  nothing  greater  could 
be  a unit;  and  with  the  prospect  of  430  millions, 


102 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


CHAP. 


which  is  the  population  of  China  to-day,  coming  to 
this  conclusion,  it  is  not  surprising  that  there  should 
have  been  some  fear.  It  has  not  yet  been  realised 
how  greatly  the  family  and  ancestor-linked  system 
of  China  has  already  been  eaten  into  by  the  direct 
and  indirect  efforts  of  missionaries,  merchants,  and 
foreign  wars.  Just  as  in  Russia,  so  in  China  the 
village-system  is  destined  to  be  slowly  but  irresistibly 
destroyed,  and  as  yet  it  is  not  clear  what  is  to  take 
its  place. 

The  old  China  was  therefore  passing  away  with 
the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Chinese,  it  is 
true,  were  themselves  but  little  conscious  of  the 
changes  through  which  they  were  passing.  They 
quoted  just  as  glibly  that  if  you  are  rich,  you  must 
have  a cook  from  Canton,  where  the  preparations 
of  puppy  dogs  and  kindred  culinary  triumphs  have 
long  been  the  pride  of  the  Empire ; that  to  be 
happy  you  must  marry  the  women  of  Soochow 
where  the  pretty  girls  come  from;  that  to  live  well 
you  must  go  to  Hangchow,  which  is  the  Cote  d'Azur 
of  the  eighteen  provinces ; and  that,  finally,  when 
you  are  about  to  die  it  is  best  to  speed  to  Yangchow, 
where  the  wood  is  splendid  and  the  coffins  are  made 
wonderfully  thick.  But  they  quoted  these  things, 
living  in  foreign  settlements  such  as  those  of 
Shanghai,  where  they  enjoyed  comforts  and  a 
privacy  unknown  in  the  old  days;  they  were  pleased 
to  eat  a cooking  which  is  not  the  orthodox  cooking 
of  China;  to  marry  wives  or  concubines  who  had  a 
penchant  for  HoubiganBs  scent,  European  liqueurs, 


Ill 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


103 


and  American  candy;  and  to  see  and  know  that  the 
coffins  in  which  they  would  finally  be  buried  would 
be  fashioned  of  wood  from  Oregon  or  Korea.  Of 
course  only  a handful  of  China’s  many  millions 
could  afford  such  things,  but  the  handfuls  were 
becoming  handfuls  stationed  at  very  many  points 
all  over  the  Empire;  and  when  the  many  millions 
of  China  have  finished  their  day’s  work  they  have 
nothing  much  to  do  in  the  way  of  amusements 
except  stand  about  and  talk  to  one  another.  In  this 
way  an  eternal  causerie  goes  endlessly  on,  and  has 
ended  by  making  most  of  the  millions  fully  cognisant 
of  the  new  things  and  of  the  new  life. 

For  in  many  provinces  there  is  scarcely  a village 
which  has  not  somebody  away  working  on  a railway, 
or  on  a steamer,  or  in  a factory,  or  in  some  way 
connected  with  a set  of  factors  unknown  half  a 
century  ago.  And  when  one  man  from  a village 
goes,  another  soon  says  he  wants  to  go  too;  and  as 
soon  as  wife,  mother,  and  grandmother  have  been 
mollified  by  the  promises  of  what  he  will  be  able  to 
give  when  he  comes  back  — for  the  women  here  play 
just  as  dominant  a part  as  they  do  in  every  other 
corner  of  the  world  — another  Chinaman  is  tramping 
away  with  a bundle  on  his  back,  or  is  being  yulohed 
down  a creek  on  an  over-crowded  junk.  That  China- 
man will  never  be  quite  the  same  man  again.  In 
some  prefectures  almost  half  the  able-bodied  males 
are  away  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  When  the 
Russians  were  undisturbed  in  Manchuria,  they  must 
have  been  directly  employing  forty  or  fifty  thousand 


104 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  chap. 


men  from  the  three  Shantung  prefectures  of 
Tengchou-fu,  Laichou-fu,  and  Ichou-fu  — a big 
handful  to  learn  so  quickly  something  of  the 
European’s  ways. 

With  the  passage  of  all  this  time  and  the 
opportunities  which  have  gradually  grown  up  for 
visiting  and  examining  the  entire  country  from  the 
only  true  point  of  view  — the  Peking  point  of  view  — 
China  is  seen  in  a very  different  light  from  that  of 
half  a century  ago.  It  is  understood  now  very  well 
that  it  is  the  North  which  dominates  every  other  part 
of  the  Empire;  that  it  is  not  the  Cantonese,  as  every- 
one thought,  who  are  the  best  traders  and  the  most 
hard-headed  people,  but  the  men  of  Chehkiang;  that 
the  women’s  feet  are  bound,  not  to  prevent  them 
from  wandering  forth,  but  for  sensuous  reasons;  that 
China,  although  very  rich,  is  also  very  poor;  and 
that  the  Manchus  are  no  longer  a power  in  the 
country.  And  these  are  only  a few  items  in  the  new 
knowledge. 

Surveying  the  whole  country  from  Peking,  China 
speedily  falls  into  three  grand  natural  divisions:  the 
dry  North,  the  Yangtsze  belt,  and  the  Southern 
Provinces.  The  dry  North  includes  six  provinces  — 
Chihli,  Shantung,  Shansi,  Shensi,  Kansu,  and  Honan 
— and  feels  itself  under  the  immediate  control  of 
Peking,  in  whose  councils  the  Tientsien  Viceroy’s 
voice  is  very  powerful.  It  is  the  country  of  pony  and 
mule  traffic,  with  great  teams  of  animals  straining 
perpetually  at  the  shafts  of  clumsy  but  unbreakable 
carts.  It  grows  no  wet  rice,  but  crops  of  grain  and 


Alonc  TiiK  (Ikani)  Canal. 


m SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  105 

small  millet  on  which  the  population  feeds.  Its 
climate  is  dry,  very  dry  indeed,  and  the  fierce  summer 
sun  which  continually  shines  bronzes  the  people 
until  they  are  many  shades  darker  than  those  from 
the  damp  provinces,  and  are  not  unlike  certain  natives 
of  India.  In  winter  it  is  cold  as  death  itself,  and 
great  hurricanes  of  northerly  winds  sweep  over  the 
country,  chilling  man  and  beast  until  they  cannot 
move.  There  is  but  little  spring,  and  by  May  the 
winter  cold  is  only  exchanged  for  a burning  dry  heat 
which  sends  the  thermometer  above  one  hundred 
degrees.  During  July  the  rainy  season  sets  in,  and 
swamping  rains  fall  on  the  country,  turning  the  thick 
dust  into  a thicker  mud.  The  people  are  bigger, 
stronger,  rougher,  but  far  more  simple  than  any 
other  Chinese,  for  in  their  veins  there  is  much  mixed 
blood,  springing  rather  from  warlike  than  from  trading 
peoples.  Moreover,  in  the  north-west  the  Moham- 
medans are  very  numerous.  In  Kansu  alone  there 
are  millions  of  them.  It  is  this  block  of  northern 
country,  so  often  overrun  and  subdued  by  Mongol 
and  Manchurian  peoples,  which  now  controls  the 
former  conquerors.  Three-quarters  of  Manchuria 
has  been  settled  by  settlers  from  North  China,  and 
the  Mongols  have  many  garrisons  and  trading  com- 
munities of  these  men  settled  amongst  them.  The 
northern  Chinaman,  venturing  beyond  his  six  pro- 
vinces to  the  south,  finds  himself  among  men  who 
understand  him  less  and  less  the  farther  he  goes 
away  from  home,  until  he  is  understood  not  at  all. 
So  he  does  not  go  much  to  the  south,  but  migrates 


io6 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  chap 


farther  north,  where  he  finds  people  more  simple  even 
than  he  is.  He  speaks  a clean-sounding  dialect, 
which  is  the  ofiicial  language  of  the  Empire,  and  is 
admired  as  much  as  the  Hanoverian  German  in  the 
Kaiser’s  domains.  His  is  the  Roman  language  in 
the  Tuscan  mouth. 

In  the  Yangtsze  regions  also  six  provinces  must  be 
reckoned,  but  with  a seventh,  Chehkiang,  added, 
because  it  pushes  so  close  to  the  great  estuary  that 
all  its  cities  have  canalised  waterways  connecting 
them  with  the  River.  The  six  provinces  of  the 
North  have  at  most  130,000,000  inhabitants;  but  the 
six  Yangtsze  provinces,  Kiangsu,  Anhui,  Kiangsi, 
Hunan,  Hupeh,  and  Szechuan,  with  Chehkiang 
added,  have  far  more  than  200,000,000  congregated 
near  the  waters  of  the  great  River.  Tributaries, 
canals,  creeks,  and  shallow  lakes  make  it  possible 
for  everyone  to  reach  the  Yangtsze  itself  by  water 
from  the  most  distant  points  of  this  vast  belt  of 
country.  Over  hundreds  of  thousands  of  square 
miles  the  rich  and  never  ending  rice  crops  stand 
ankle-deep  in  water,  fearing  floods  more  than 
droughts,  for  of  water  there  is  always  more  than  a 
surfeit.  This  great  region  has  always  been  the  belly 
of  the  Empire;  and  so  in  very  ancient  times  the 
dominant  North  built  canals  stretching  from  the 
Gates  of  Peking  to  the  Yangtsze,  and  exacted  tribute 
in  kind  which,  journeying  slowly  week  after  week  by 
clumsy  junk,  was  finally  deposited  at  the  feet  of  the 
Emperors. 

The  latitude  of  these  regions  is  marked  on  the 


m 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


107 


faces  and  speech  of  these  people.  As  you  pass, 
coming  from  the  north,  from  Honan  into  Hupeh,  or 
from  Shantung  into  Anhui,  the  chocolate-brown 
faces  are  exchanged  for  a half-bronzed  yellow,  pro- 
claiming that  from  a bone-dry  climate  you  are  reach- 
ing a semi-damp  one  which  bleaches  rather  than 
tans;  whilst  the  speech  which  was  clear  and  distinct 
becomes  more  and  more  slurring  and  watery.  It  is 
still  the  official  or  mandarin  dialect,  but  each  mile 
farther  south  you  go  shreds  off  more  of  the  gutturals 
and  adds  softer  labials.  Around  the  basin  of  the 
Yangtsze  itself  the  gutturals  have  entirely  disappeared, 
and  the  Chehkiang  Chinese  are  even  laughed  at  by 
everybody  else  as  having  women’s  voices.  The 
cracking  whip  and  the  teams  of  fettlesome  mules 
and  ponies  are  here  unknown,  for  water  has  taken 
the  place  of  the  road,  and  of  highways  there  is  no 
trace  excepting  the  wheel-barrow  and  sedan-chair 
tracks  which  do  not  deserve  such  a name.  The 
human  draught-animal  has  entirely  displaced  the 
mule  and  the  pony,  and  man-power  is  here  every- 
thing. 

Going  due  west  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yangtsze,  a 
thousand  miles  or  more,  you  note  that  the  harmless-- 
ness  and  women-like  qualities  of  the  men  disappear 
more  and  more,  until  in  Hunan,  which  is  far  away,  a 
restless  and  determined  race  is  met.  Whilst  you 
could  dominate  the  tens  of  millions  of  the  lower 
Yangtsze  with  a few  thousand  men,  many  more 
would  be  required  to  penetrate  the  districts  of  the 
middle  and  upper  Yangtsze.  This  is  proved  by  the 


io8 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN 


CHAP. 


course  of  the  Taiping  rebel  armies.  Sweeping  up 
from  Kwangtung  half  a century  ago,  Hunan  beat 
them  due  east  until  they  settled  on  the  defenceless 
people  of  the  lower  Yangtsze.  A few  regiments  of 
Indian  troops  could  garrison  a hundred  thousand 
miles  of  the  lower  Yangtsze  country,  but  a hundred 
thousand  men  would  not  suffice  for  Hunan. 

Finally  there  is  Southern  China,  in  which  a 
people  of  difficult  speech  and  truculent  temper,  in  all 
truth  a detestable  people,  are  gathered.  In  the  five 
provinces  of  Fuhkien,  Kwangtung,  Kwangsi, 
Kweichau,  and  Yunnan,  there  are  strange  breeds  of 
men  who  are  but  half-Chinese  in  their  origin.  If 
you  are  dismayed  at  the  dialects  of  Kwangtung  and 
Kwangsi,  it  is  nothing  to  what  you  experience  in 
Fuhkien.  No  Chinese  excepting  the  natives  of  this 
province  can  acquire  the  dialects  of  the  region,  and 
there  is  no  Chinese  but  will  hold  up  his  hands 
in  horror  when  you  mention  this  ^‘bird-chattering” 
language.  In  Fuhkien  as  in  Kwangtung  and  the 
other  provinces,  the  Chinese  have  assimilated  the 
original  inhabitants,  whose  ugly  features  are  now 
perpetuated  in  the  faces  of  nominal  Chinese.  The 
skinny  necks,  the  Simian  mouths,  and  the  out-turned 
feet  are  the  marks  of  the  beast,  which  can  never  be 
entirely  eradicated  and  speak  of  breeds  of  men  lower 
than  the  Annamite.  Chinese  licentiousness  is  also 
at  its  height  in  the  southern  provinces,  because  there 
has  been  much  breeding  in  the  dim  past  with  inferior 
races,  and  because  the  climate  is  worse.  The 
southern  coast  is  the  old  pirate  coast  which  the 


Ill  SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  109 

Manchus  have  never  thoroughly  comprehended;  it 
is  the  land  of  stink-pots  and  dastardly  attacks  on  the 
sailing  ships  of  former  days.  Southern  China  does 
not  contain  much  of  the  true  Chinaman.  It  has 
mixed  so  many  peoples  in  its  pot  that  the  vices  of 
the  half-caste  and  quarter-caste  are  uppermost,  and 
superstition  holds  sway  with  a strength  it  does  not 
possess  elsewhere. 

Such  are  the  Chinese  peoples  of  to-day.  They  are 
making  immense  progress,  considering  the  difficulties 
which  have  to  be  overcome,  and  are  already  twenty 
years  ahead  of  their  Government.  At  the  open  ports 
individualism,  that  immense  force,  is  showing  itself 
more  and  more,  and  breaking  up  slowly  but  irresistibly 
collectivism  and  the  effete  family  system.  Hundreds 
of  articles  of  luxury  are  being  used  more  and  more; 
the  Chinese  woman  now  being  liberated,  is  demand- 
ing more  and  more  attention,  and  is  exerting  the 
same  influence  in  the  cause  of  progress  as  other 
women  have  done  elsewhere.  Vanity  and  the  hurry 
to  get  rich  are  rapidly  breaking  down  old  barriers. 
In  ten  years’  time  the  people  will  be  fifty  years  ahead 
of  their  Government.  In  twenty  years,  when  all  the 
railways  are  complete,  Chinese  public  opinion  will 
force  the  Government  into  wholesale  reform,  or  will 
so  discredit  it  that  it  will  disappear,  to  be  replaced  by 
another  system.  It  behoves  England,  who  has 
brought  about  directly  or  indirectly  eighty  per  cent, 
of  all  this  peaceful  revolution  among  the  biggest 
population  of  any  country  in  the  world,  to  hasten 
with  all  the  means  in  her  power  this  up-building  of 


no 


SOME  DISCOURSE  ON  THE  CHINAMAN  ch.  hi 


the  new  — remembering  that  this  admirable  but 
unlovely  race  are  the  best  creditors  in  the  world,  and 
that  every  effort,  every  act,  and  every  help  will  be 
one  day  repaid  with  a rate  of  interest  which  is  now 
unobtainable  on  such  good  security  even  among  the 
most  Christian  Powers. 


CHAPTER  IV 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAELWAY 

Ha^tkow  has  three  railway  stations : Gave  du 

Han,  Hankowville,  and  Gare  fluviale  — I give  the 
names  as  they  stand  so  that  you  may  realise  that 
British  influence  and  interests  cease  once  you  are  off 
the  river-front,  and  that  those  Powers  who  have  no 
business  on  the  Yangtsze  are  already  very  important. 
Gare  du  Han  is  away  to  the  west  with  the  rails 
almost  falling  into  the  Han  River.  Around  this 
station  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  francs  are 
being  spent  in  filling  in  swamps  and  making  solid 
bundings ; and  from  here  loading  and  unloading 
from  river  to  railway,  and  vice  versa,  can  be  carried 
on  from  native  boats.  Hankowville  is  at  the  back 
of  the  foreign  Settlements  — to  be  exact,  just  behind 
the  French  Settlement  — and,  marking  kilometre  5 
from  the  Han  River  station,  is  where  you  and  all 
European  travellers  mount  your  train.  Gare  jiu- 
viale,  five  kilometres  farther  on,  is  ear-marked  as  the 
great  future  goods  terminus,  where  in  the  middle  of 
the  French-Belgian  railway  settlement  mountains 
of  cargo  will  be  run  down  in  trucks  to  the  river- 


II2 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


banks  and  loaded  into  non-British  steamers.  It  is 
well  to  understand  these  things  at  the  beginning. 

The  hour  of  starting  is  matutinal  to  say  the 
least,  and  you  must  be  up  betimes.  Therefore  at 
five  I was  awake,  at  six  I was  ready  packed,  and 
long  before  seven  I had  successfully  missed  my 
train.  Trusting  to  the  Hankow  rickshaw  coolie  to 
trundle  me  right,  I had  merely  gazed  about  me  and 
meditated  on  the  political  situation.  The  coolie, 
unburdened  by  such  thoughts,  ran  cheerfully  enough, 
after  the  Chinese  manner,  over  building  materials 
and  all  other  things,  animate  and  inanimate,  which 
were  still  yawning  on  the  ground.  I merely  noted 
that  the  road  appeared  no  easy  one.  Progressing 
resolutely,  the  time  sped  pleasantly  in  the  freshness 
of  dewy  morning,  and  all  thoughts  of  trains  soon 
disappeared.  After  some  time  the  thought  slowly 
pressed  on  my  subconsciousness  that  the  coolie  was 
merely  cheerful  and  not  gifted  with  a knowledge  of 
localities;  and  therefore,  moved  by  my  referring  to 
his  progenitors  in  deprecatory  terms,  he  was  pleased 
to  change  his  direction  and  run  more  blithely  than 
ever.  Expostulating  with  him  once  more,  I drew 
from  him  the  knowledge  that  he  knew  not  whither 
he  was  going,  and  that  he  was  only  hunting  out  the 
train  after  the  manner  of  his  kind.  In  China  it 
is  but  natural  to  go  without  knowing  where  you  are 
going;  is  there  not  always  the  assembled  populace 
from  which  to  draw  all  details? 

It  was  finally  a very  heated  and  enraged  draught- 
animal  who  reached  the  railway  embankment  — for 


IV  ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY  113 

from  the  comfort  of  my  seat  I had  revenged  myself 
beyond  retort  after  the  native  manner  — but  alas ! 
the  train  had  disappeared,  and  with  it  my  baggage. 
I reached  the  station,  which  as  yet  merely  con- 
sists of  a little  wooden  box  in  which  are  telephone 
and  telegraph,  and  was  met  by  a perplexed  but 
obliging  native  staff.  My  men,  also  after  the 
manner  of  their  kind,  had  gone  forward  with  cheer- 
fulness, carrying  from  me  my  baggage  and  my  traps 
— should  they  ring  up  Gare  fluviale  and  stop  them  ? 
The  railway  telephone  clanged  and  buzzed,  and  one 
Monsieur  Morusse  was  implored  to  }aire  descendre 
mes  bagages.  French  is  the  official  language  of  the 
railway,  and  the  native  railway  staff,  recruited  from 
Roman  Catholic  Missionary  Schools,  are  forced  to 
use  the  Gallic  tongue  in  all  official  business.  At 
length  Morusse,  who,  whatever  he  might  be  in  the 
flesh,  possessed  an  admirably  rolling  r,  rasped  back 
his  answer.  My  men  had  been  dragged  from  the 
train;  I was  saved.  The  native  crowd,  ever  cheer- 
ful and  full  of  information,  told  me  how  it  had 
occurred;  and  as  an  ancient  dame  was  more  voluble 
than  the  rest,  I singled  her  out  and  paid  to  her  the 
rickshaw  fare.  Then,  secure  in  the  knowledge  that 
I had  sown  the  seeds  of  a fruit  which  would  not  fail 
to  bring  joy,  I moved  away  to  the  sound  of  a dispute 
in  which  the  vociferations  of  rickshaw  coolie  and 
mob  made  the  air  shake. 

In  the  little  station-box  the  Chinese  station- 
master  and  his  assistants  were  collected,  and  from 
them  many  small  things  were  gathered  concerning 

VOL.  I — I 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


II4 

the  methods  of  Belgian  railway  officials.  Presently 
the  four  Mauser-armed  soldiers  of  the  Viceroy’s 
.troops,  who  are  stationed  at  every  station  along  the 
line  ‘^to  protect  the  foreigner,”  came  in  too  — smart- 
looking men  in  khaki  and  straw  hats  drilled  after 
the  German  drill.  But  they  confessed  that  though 
they  had  their  rifles  and  bayonets,  no  ammunition 
was  ever  served  out  to  them,  and  that  it  was  their 
moral  influence  which  was  counted  on  to  do  all  the 
work.  Two  of  the  men  had  fought  in  Manchuria, 
•one  had  been  on  the  Tonking  frontier.  The  China- 
man is  a true  mercenary. 

Leaving  half-an-hour  afterwards,  I discovered  that 
the  crowd  had  melted  away;  there  was  merely  the 
railway  track  curving  away  in  solitary  grandeur  from 
the  top  of  its  commanding  embankment.  Below  the 
embankment,  but  placed  strategically  so  that  he 
might  immediately  catch  my  eye,  the  rickshaw 
coolie  sat  simulating  an  ever  recurring  sob  with 
some  theatrical  excellence ; and  from  his  attitude 
the  whole  story  was  told.  The  old  woman,  as  all 
old  women  do  in  China,  had  won  and  quietly 
disappeared.  I walked  past  gazing  skywards;  the 
rickshaw  coolie,  esteeming  that  his  frontal  attack 
had  failed,  got  up  quietly  and  placed  the  rickshaw 
tentatively  at  my  feet.  His  tears  had  vanished  so 
suddenly  that  no  man  might  say  where  they  had 
come  from,  and  soon  he  was  speeding  back  telling 
every  passer-by,  after  the  engaging  Chinese  manner, 
as  much  of  the  affair  as  the  state  of  the  road  would 
permit,  adding  — lyingly  — that  I was  now  paying 


IV 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


1 15 

him  double.  Such  is  the  Chinaman  — all-conquering 
in  peace  if  not  in  war. 

Another  day  dawned  and  the  train  now  bore  me 
safely  north.  At  Gave  fluviale,  which  is  kilometre 
10  and  the  future  goods  terminus,  a miniature  town 
after  the  manner  of  the  Manchurian  railway  towns 
is  already  rising.  There  is  a hotel,  new  shops, 
private  houses,  and  the  commencement  of  streets. 
And  behind  the  station  and  running  right  down  to 
the  banks  of  the  Yangtsze  are  many  double  tracks. 
Around  here  oil  tanks  are  being  established;  tank 
cars  have  arrived  from  Europe,  and  soon  kerosene 
oil,  for  which  the  demand  in  China  grows  from 
year  to  year,  will  be  steaming  up  to  the  North  rapidly 
by  rail  — kerosene  oil  that  has  been  pumped  from 
wells  into  pipes,  from  pipes  into  tank  steamer,  and 
has  then  come  'to  China;  and  now  an  identical 
unloading  operation  will  be  conducted  in  the  heart 
of  the  country  which  will  open  up  for  the  trade  new 
channels. 

Not  much  time,  however,  was  left  to  look  about. 
A khaki-clad  Belgian  locomotive  inspector,  note- 
book in  hand,  swung  himself  aboard,  a brand  new 
engine  was  coupled  on,  and  away  we  went.  It  was 
to  be  my  first  taste  of  the  methods  in  vogue  on  this 
line.  As  soon  as  we  got  the  straight,  the  scenery 
flicked  past  quicker  and  quicker,  and  the  inspector, 
note-book  in  hand,  marked  the  kilometre  stones  with 
his  stop-watch.  Thirty-five  kilometres,  forty-five, 
fifty,  fifty-five,  sixty;  in  less  than  ten  minutes  we  were 
running  at  sixty  kilometres  an  hour  and  more,  over 


ii6 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


a road  bed  that  did  not  justify  thirty.  But  the 
important  part  appeared  to  be  to  establish  the  speed 
of  the  locomotive  and  nothing  else.  Several  times 
we  jumped  so  high  on  the  rails  that  I prepared  for 
the  worst;  but  each  time  providence  came  to  our 
rescue  and  we  duly  skirted  the  inviting  paddy-fields 
that  waited  all  ready  below  to  receive  our  mutilated 
corpses.  But  as  we  travelled  north  in  this  enter- 
taining fashion,  resigning  ourselves  to  the  inevitable, 
there  was  ample  time  to  observe  the  passengers,  the 
freight,  and  many  other  things. 

Beyond  Hankow  for  nearly  one  hundred  miles,  as 
you  head  almost  due  north,  the  country  is  the 
ordinary  rice  and  cotton  country,  rich  and  produc- 
tive in  the  highest  degree  and  therefore  possessing 
plenty  of  raw  stuffs  for  export.  The  land  is  low- 
lying,  however,  and  very  liable  to  flooding,  but 
during  1904  (when  I write),  which  has  been  a year  of 
plenty  for  the  entire  Far  East  — there  have  been  not 
only  no  floods  but  the  blazing  sun  has  beaten  down 
so  fiercely  that  only  irrigation  and  some  torrential 
rains  have  saved  the  situation.  Away  to  the  east, 
which  is  towards  the  China  Seas,  hills  rise  occa- 
sionally above  the  rolling  distance,  only  to  collapse 
again  in  their  vain  struggle  against  these  vast 
alluvial  plains.  Not  until  you  reach  the  boundary 
line  between  Hupeh  and  Honan  provinces  does  the 
aspect  of  the  country  change.  Then  hills  that  have 
been  timidly  rising  and  shrinking  away  become 
more  and  more  menacing.  They  no  longer  raise 
their  crests  only  to  the  East;  they  appear  on  every 


A Station  on  the  Hankow-Peking  Railway. 


IV 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


117 

side,  but  more  especially  directly  in  front  of  the 
iron-way,  and  finally  culminate  in  a mountain  range, 
sometimes  called  the  Feng-shui-ling,  which  cuts  off 
the  Yangtsze  regions  and  Hupeh  province  from 
richer  Honan. 

At  each  railway  station  the  four  railway  guards 
detached  from  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung’s  foreign- 
drilled  troops  stand  at  attention  as  the  train  steams 
in,  and  sometimes,  when  the  humour  seizes  them, 
even  present  arms.  The  station  buildings  are  not 
much  to  look  at  — in  fact  they  are  rather  deplorable, 
and  consist  of  white-plastered  houses  built  of  rough 
bricks,  which  call  aloud  the  foolish  economy  exer- 
cised in  the  matter.  The  staff  is  always  the  same: 
a French-speaking  Chinese  station-master  with 
golden  dragons  running  up  his  sleeves,  and  a 
whistle  in  his  hand;  nativ^e  switchman  and  ticket- 
office  men  and  a crowd  of  coolies.  And  in  addition 
to  the  squad  of  soldiers  there  is  a species  of  red- 
coated  Chinese  railway  police,  paid  by  the  railway 
company,  but  recruited  by  the  Chinese  authorities. 
Armed  with  heavy  cudgels,  these  men  are  often 
requested  by  the  Belgian  guard  on  the  train  to 
wield  their  sticks  on  the  native  passengers ; and 
being  but  ignorant  men  they  readily  accede.  For- 
tunately I was  travelling  with  a Chinese  police- 
magistrate  from  the  Wuchang  Viceroy’s  Yamen,  who 
was  going  up  to  investigate  just  such  a case  of 
unjustifiable  assault  by  the  railway  police,  which 
had  taken  place  at  the  instigation  of  the  European 
conductor.  A respectable  Chinese  had  been  pulled 


ii8 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


off  a train  a few  days  before  for  no  reason  that 
could  be  ascertained,  had  been  badly  beaten,  and  in 
addition  had  had  his  queue  half  torn  from  his  head. 
Being  a man  of  substance  he  had  raised  his  country- 
side, and  things  had  looked  so  ugly  that  the  Viceroy 
had  to  step  in  and  order  a special  investigation. 
The  police-magistrate  was  voluble  and  communica- 
tive in  the  vernacular.  How  could  there  be  any 
real  progress  and  reform  while  such  events  were 
continually  occurring?  he  asked.  The  railway 
problem  is  certainly  a new  and  difficult  one  for 
China  to  manage,  since  the  flooding  of  the  interior 
with  ignorant  and  brutal  Europeans,  belonging  to 
nationalities  which  do  not  understand  how  to  deal 
with  Eastern  peoples,  may  bring  about  fresh  dis- 
turbances some  day. 

Meanwhile,  native  passengers  with  their  piles  of 
impedimenta^  and  their  endless  ticket  disputes, 
tumbled  off  or  clambered  on  in  great  numbers  as 
we  reached  stations  a few  dozen  miles  north  of 
Hankow.  The  train  was  the  ordinary  mixed  train 
invented  on  the  British-controlled  Peking-Tientsien- 
Shanhaikwan  line  — a second-class  carriage,  a couple 
of  third-class,  and  many  ordinary  goods  wagons  for 
fourth-class  open-air  travellers.  In  such  trucks 
native  men  and  women,  and  boxes  and  cases,  were 
piled  indiscriminately,  and  all  but  a few  richer  natives 
patronised  this  cheap  method  of  travel.  On  the 
road  we  passed  long  lines  of  trucks  piled  high  with 
merchandise  and  building  materials,  and  at  many 
stations  there  was  ample  evidence  that  the  goods 


IV 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


119 

traffic  on  this  trunk  line  will  soon  be  very  great  and 
remunerative. 

At  noon  we  pulled  up  in  front  of  some  big  engine 
sheds  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  We  had  long 
ago  stopped  our  sixty-kilometre  speed  and  had  been 
lolling  forward  at  twenty  an  hour  to  save  the  track, 
which  even  on  the  sections  near  the  Hankow 
terminus  showed  many  signs  of  careless  construc- 
tion. Soon  we  were  off  again,  the  mountains  closed 
in  around  us,  and,  rattling  through  the  first  tunnel, 
we  had  passed  irrevocably  from  Hupeh  province 
into  Honan. 

The  scenery  now  changed.  The  first  station  at 
which  we  pulled  up  lay  hidden  in  a narrow  moun- 
tain valley,  inexpressibly  cool  after  the  fierce  heat  of 
the  Yangtsze,  which  had  been  left  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  behind  us.  Rugged  cliffs  rose  above  us, 
vegetation  was  scant;  and  on  the  top  of  a mountain 
peak  the  ruined  remains  of  a castellated  keep  pinned 
our  attention.  We  were  assuredly  in  Honan  pro- 
vince, the  province  once  over-run  by  brigand  bands, 
and  here  perhaps,  in  this  little-visited  spot,  had  been 
the  lair  of  an  old-time  hunghutzu^  who  must  have 
been  as  safe  from  capture  on  his  mountain-top  as  a 
Baron  in  his  Rhine  castle. 

The  train  puffed,  and  we  crawled  up  steep  grades 
and  slid  snake-like  down  descending  ones.  At  last 
the  mountains  smoothed  away  into  hills,  the  hills 
in  turn  flattened  out ; rice-fields  appeared  again, 
drawing  their  cool  irrigating  water  from  hill-streams 
in  gurgling  trickles;  and  the  heat,  no  longer  shut 


120 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


from  us,  struck  once  more  as  heavily  as  it  could  with 
its  fast-sinking  rays.  We  had  reached  the  flat. 

Suddenly  I saw  ahead  of  us  the  first  sign  of  the 
North.  The  paddy-fields  had  become  drier  and 
drier,  the  trickle  of  water  less  and  less;  and  then 
without  other  warning  the  first  kao-liang,  the  tall 
waving  millet  of  the  North,  appeared.  It  was  the 
North,  and  the  dry  country  where  men  eat  hard  grain 
instead  of  soft  rice,  because  the  latter  cannot  be  pro- 
fitably raised. 

At  the  little  stations  the  sedan-chairs  still  waited 
for  possible  fares ; wheel-barrows  were  still  there 
with  their  horrid  screeching  as  their  coolies  rushed 
forward  and  clamoured  for  the  attention  of  alighted 
passengers.  It  would  not  be  long,  however.  In 
half-an-hour,  at  most,  cart-tracks  would  appear  with 
ponies,  mules,  and  donkeys,  those  beautifully 
miscellaneous  teams  of  which  China  possesses  the 
monopoly,  tugging  laboriously  at  overladen  carts 
with  a perspiring  driver  shouting  his  driving  direc- 
tions by  merely  modulating  his  tones.  Taking  out 
my  watch  I timed  it;  twenty-three  minutes  after  the 
first  kao-liang  fields,  a bullock  cart  lumbered  out  of 
the  tall  grain  and  stood  irresolutely  alongside  the 
high  embankment.  This  means  the  North.  It  is 
good  and  profitable  to  know  your  China. 

Thus,  we  sped  on  through  the  rich  Honan  with  the 
shadows  growing  longer  and  longer.  At  eight  p.m. 
we  stopped  for  the  night,  with  our  locomotive 
screeching  away  to  its  primitive  bed  of  straw  matting, 
and  the  native  passengers  fighting  their  way  in  the 


IV 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


I2I 


dark  to  the  inns.  There  was  but  ten  minutes^  grace 
and  then  the  second  sight  of  the  North  in  summer 
unwelcomely  appeared.  Suddenly,  without  any 
warning,  a peal  of  thunder  rang  out  crashingly;  and 
before  there  was  time  to  move  from  the  railway 
carriage  it  commenced  raining  with  the  torrential 
rain  which  puts  six  inches  of  water  on  the  ground  in 
a single  hour.  Cold  fare  was  therefore  the  order  of 
the  night.  At  six  we  were  off  again,  and  in  three 
hours  we  had  pulled  up  for  the  last  time  at  the  town 
of  Yen  Ch’eng.  Ahead  of  us  the  iron  track  still 
swirled  away  in  the  distance,  but  the  train  service 
had  ceased  here ; we  had  reached  the  end  of 
V exploitation  or  the  sections  open  to  traffic,  and 
beyond  was  a construction,  a very  questionable  thing, 
since  no  man  knew  when  materials  were  going 
forward.  It  might  be  perhaps  the  day  after,  perhaps 
only  in  four  or  five  days,  for  it  was  raining  very 
heavily,  and  it  would  not  do  to  injure  the  unballasted 
track,  which  was  already  in  a deplorable  state. 

With  this  uninviting  prospect  facing  me,  I was 
rescued  by  a young  Frenchman,  stationed  in  exile 
at  this  lonely  spot  in  charge  of  a depot  belonging  to 
one  of  the  newly  organised  French  firms  in  Hankow. 
Already,  he  told  me,  his  house  had  established  eight 
collecting-stations  for  country  produce  between 
Hankow  and  the  Yellow  River  — eight  establishments 
which  were  organising  native  collecting  agencies  at 
many  points  far  away  from  the  railway,  all  of  which 
were  affiliated  to  the  eight  branch  establishments 
at  the  big  centres,  making  it  thus  possible  to  tap 


122 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


the  country  far  and  wide  and  commence  controlling 
the  raw  export  trade.  And  in  this  place  there  was 
an  admirable  illustration  of  the  successful  manner  in 
which  this  is  already  working  out. 

A thousand  yards  from  the  station  a broad  but 
very  shallow  river  flows  from  the  west  towards  the 
east  — a river  which  is  navigable  for  several  hundred 
miles  and  indeed  actually  connects  in  a tortuous 
fashion  with  the  great  Yangtsze  itself.  The  rain 
having  ceased  we  strolled  down  to  the  railway-bridge, 
and  through  the  iron-girders  gazed  at  the  busy  scene 
below.  Many  dozens  of  junks  lay  moored  along 
what  is  to  become  a railway  landing-stage,  where 
cargo  will  be  hoisted  in  and  out  by  the  aid  of  modem 
machinery.  Now  hundreds  of  coolies,  dripping 
great  beads  of  sweat  from  their  trembling  bodies, 
staggered  up  the  gang-planks  carrying  bales  of  hides, 
sacks  of  grain,  gall-nuts,  sesamun  seed,  and  many 
other  things  that  had  been  brought  far  down  from 
the  hitherto  inaccessible  interior  by  boat.  From 
here  scores  of  carts  were  loaded  up  and  went  splash- 
ing away  through  the  mud  to  where  rough  railway  go- 
downs  offered  a safe  deposit  for  a few  days.  Thus  the 
success  of  a station  which  has  only  been  opened  for 
a few  short  weeks  is  already  assured.  From  places 
many  hundreds  of  miles  away  cargo  by  the  thousand 
ton  is  pouring  in,  the  native  merchants  seizing  only 
too  eagerly  the  opportunity  now  being  offered  to 
them  for  conveying  their  goods  to  the  great  markets 
with  a rapidity  which  has  never  before  been  possible. 
And  this  is  but  one  little  corner  of  Honan,  which, 


IV 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


123 


with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  other  provinces, 
probably  possesses  the  richest  soil  in  China.  Between 
this  point  and  the  Yellow  River  there  will  be  dozens 
of  stations,  and  at  all  of  them  passengers  and  freight 
will  soon  be  coming  forward  in  a manner  which  will 
cause  anguish  to  those  English  speculators  who  lost 
the  opportunity  which  was  theirs  to  secure  the  con- 
cession for  this  rich  road. 

It  was  here  on  this  broad  but  treacherous  river 
that  I made  another  discovery  — I saw  a new  genus 
of  junk.  There  are  many  kinds  of  junks  in  China, 
from  the  huge  lumbering  sea-junk  which  looks  like 
the  galleons  of  other  days,  to  the  wasp-waisted  river- 
junk  which  sails  the  great  canals;  but  never  have  I 
seen  such  an  one  as  these  here.  Briefly  this  was  a 
double  junk  — a junk  in  two  pieces  which  can 
split  in  two  just  as  you  chop  a worm  in  half. 
^Midships  the  junk  is  only  chained  together  in  a 
primitive  way,  and  by  releasing  certain  bolts  it  can 
be  divided  up  into  two  halves,  the  stern  floating  one 
way  and  the  stem  another.  It  is  when  the  water 
shoals  that  this  strange  invention  becomes  more  than 
useful.  Coming  down-stream  it  often  happens  that 
the  heavy  junk  ‘‘piles  up’^  on  some  sand-bank  and 
defies  all  efforts  to  float  her  off  again,  for  here  the 
water  is  counted  by  inches.  Then  it  is  only  necessary 
to  unchain  the  after-half,  float  it  alongside  the 
forrard  and  unload  from  one  into  another,  until  the 
first  half,  much  lightened,  can  be  pushed  off,  and  after 
the  re-chaining  the  journey  resumed.  Never  before 
have  I heard  that  one-half  of  a ship  could  become  the 


124 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


saviour  of  the  other  in  this  fashion;  and  once  more 
it  has  been  left  to  the  Chinaman  to  invent  such 
novel  means.  But  the  junkmen,  squatting  on  their 
haunches,  explained  that  it  was  really  a dry  country 
and  not  a water-country,  and  that  therefore 
to  navigate  where  there  is  seldom  more  than  fifteen 
inches  or  twenty  inches  needs  special  measures;  even 
in  shallow-draught  work  you  can  teach  the  China- 
man but  little.  Before  the  railway  had  come  these 
junks  journeyed  from  the  Far  West  down  to  the 
Yangtsze,  taking  half  a year  there  and  back.  Now 
by  unloading  here  and  hurrying  back  they  can  make 
six  or  eight  trips  in  the  same  time,  and  ..already  the 
old  trade  channels  are  being  disturbed  and  old  towns 
are  suffering.  The  railways  are  giving'  another 

death-blow  to  the  old. 

It  was  not  for  another  forty-eight  hours  that 
a construction  train  finally  went  forward,  and 
then  after  an  hour’s  slow  rocking  and  rolling  we 
reached  a town,  Hsu-chou,  beyond  which  it  was  not 
possible  to  go.  The  embankments  had  suffered  so 
much  from  the  rain  that  even  the  Belgian  engine- 
drivers  thought  it  more  than  their  lives  were  worth 
to  risk  a further  advance,  and  so  I had  to  dismount. 

Hsu-chou  is  three  hundred  miles  and  more  from 
Hankow  and  has  an  important  station  half  a mile 
beyond  the  Chinese  city.  Rows  of  plastered 
European  bungalows  arid  offices  flank  the  station  on 
one  side;  on  the  other  are  spacious  machine  shops, 
railway  sheds,  and  great  piles  of  materials.  From 
here  the  chief  construction-engineer  and  his  staff 


IV 


ON  THE  HANKOW-PEKING  RAILWAY 


125 


were  directing  operations  at  the  railway  head  fifty 
miles  to  the  North.  Beyond  that  the  great  Yellow 
River  bridge,  which  will  be  three  kilometres  long,  is 
already  being  commenced.  Seizing  the  opportunity 
offered,  we  mounted  a trolley  and  sped  forward  at 
twenty  miles  an  hour  with  our  coolies  driving  us. 
Right  up  to  the  end  of  the  rails  there  were  ample 
signs  that  the  Chinese  are  showing  their  appreciation 
of  this  new  means  of  communication;  for  at  every 
station  near  a town  of  importance  native  inns  are 
going  up,  and  godowns  and  sheds  are  being  con- 
structed in  great  numbers,  thus  making  a new  semi- 
foreign  settlement  flanked  by  railway  embankments. 
Even  on  the  construction  trains  crowds  of  Chinese 
manage  to  find  places,  and  it  is  amply  clear  that  the 
dividend-earning  capacity  of  this  line  would  turn 
European  railway  companies  green  with  envy. 
Everything  points  to  the  fact  that  it  is  communica; 
tion,  and  communication  alone,  which  is  needed  to 
bring  about  great  developments  in  the  interior  of 
China ; and  once  taxation  of  goods  in  transitu  — the 
detested  likin  — is  removed,  an  expansion,  will  take 
place  of  a phenomenal  nature. 

There  being  nothing  more  to  see  on  the  southern 
section  of  the  railway,  we  made  our  way  back  to  the 
native  town  of  Hsu-chou.  For  there  being  no  more 
rails,  it  is  best  to  keep  to  the  old  roads  and  cross  the 
great  Yellow  River  after  the  proper  manner,  which 
is  via  the  provincial  capital  Kaifengfu.  The  Yellow 
River  divides  this  country  in  an  astonishing  fashion 
which  must  be  understood. 


CHAPTER  V 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 

We  had  sought  refuge  in  a dilapidated  inn,  and 
there  in  the  midst  of  questionable  surroundings  had 
passed  the  time  in  sleep  until  the  weather  should 
improve,  for  the  floods  were  descending  again.  In 
the  afternoon  the  stamping  mules  aroused  us;  the 
rain-clouds  had  lifted  and  invited  us  without.  ‘Ht 
is  time,’^  muttered  one  man;  “if  we  wait  it  will  rain 
again;”  and  my  servitors,  assenting,  wrapped  their 
heads  in  ugly  travelling  clouts  so  that  the  humours 
of  the  road  might  not  molest  them. 

It  was  two  in  the  afternoon.  We  had  waited  half 
the  previous  day  and  all  the  morning  for  the 
torrential  rains  to  stop  — those  great  summer  rains  of 
Eastern  countries  which  pour  from  the  heavens  in 
protest  at  the  great  heat  which  oppresses  them  and 
make  all  travel  impossible.  It  is  true  you  can  go 
forward  by  cart  even  in  such  weather  if  you  so  will; 
but  it  is  dull  and  dreary  watching  the  mule-teams 
splashing  through  the  eternal  pools  of  mud  and 
water  and  sending  great  sprays  of  liquid  filth  high 
into  the  air.  You  must  listen,  too,  to  the  carter’s 

126 


CH.  V 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


127 


muttered  cursing  as  with  sharp  words  he  calls  upon 
that  egg  of  a tortoise  to  remember  that  the  leader 
should  strain  forward  and  not  stand  snorting  because 
a two-foot  slough  blocks  the  way.  The  old  road 
jokes  soon  become  wearisome  with  the  thick  mud- 
caking  choking  the  cart  more  and  more;  and  the 
axle-bars,  dampened  and  clogged  with  slush  and 
water,  call  piercingly  for  the  oil-pot  which  swings  be- 
neath your  seat.  Then  your  progress  becomes 
slower  and  slower  until  you  reach  the  much  cursed 
six-li  speed  — that  groaning  two  miles  an  hour, 
slower  than  which  no  self-respecting  mules  will 
move  forward.  The  leaders  — there  are  two  — after 
a time  take  to  ‘‘looking,”  as  the  carter  drolly  calls 
it,  which  is  truly  a detestable  vice  for  all  self-respect- 
ing mules.  They  edge  off  the  safe  way,  which, 
every  fool  in  the  cart-country  knows,  lies  right 
through  the  deepest  water  where  there  is  no  tilt,  and, 
by  climbing  round  the  concave  shores  of  each  lake- 
let  in  vain  efforts  to  escape  the  water,  leave  the  near 
trace  dragging  in  the  mud,  which  makes  the  wheeler 
snort  with  impotent  rage,  whilst  the  off-cords  jerk  so 
tight  across  his  throat  that  there  is  disaster  written 
in  the  air.  Then  the  carter  raises  his  voice  and,  no 
longer  muttering,  shouts  with  brazen  lungs,  “What 
are  you  looking  at,  you  dog’s  droppings!”  and,  sling- 
ing out  his  lash,  searches  cunningly  for  the  trace-galls 
on  the  leaders’  flanks.  For  a moment  the  mules 
hesitate;  then  sullenly  resigning  themselves,  with  a 
heavy  splashing  they  work  through  the  deep  water, 
all  ears  and  intelligence,  though  legs  slily  simulate 


128 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


CHAP. 


tripping,  so  that  even  carters  may  remember  that 
mules  are  human  beings  and  that  such  travelling  is 
not  fit. 

So  we  had  delayed  and  delayed  to  give  the  water 
an  opportunity  to  run  off,  as  it  does  with  lightning 
rapidity  from  the  loamy  soil;  and  now  the  last  hour 
had  come  since  it  was  past  two,  and  even  now  a 
stage,  which  is  fifty  li,  could  not  be  easily  made 
before  dark. 

At  last  we  were  off,  and  with  much  shouting 
headed  through  the  thriving  city  of  Hsu-chou  to- 
wards the  East  gates.  But  before  we  had  gone  far 
there  was  the  inevitable  stop  in  the  worst  place  — 
eighteen  inches  of  mud  and  water  and  the  mules 
only  held  in  place  by  shouts  from  the  carters.  When 
you  begin  your  road  travels  you  must  possess  your- 
self of  a great  store  of  copper  cash;  for  even  with 
the  railway  so  near  at  hand  silver  dollars  are  as  yet 
hardly  known  in  the  interior,  and  the  Chinaman, 
although  he  loves  the  feel  of  the  Mexican  coin,  can- 
not say  whether  it  is  good  business  exchanging  his 
heavy  cash  for  minted  silver  when  the  latter  is  so 
little  used.  Not  without  much  heavy  cursing  is  this 
business  brought  to  an  end.  Carters  and  money- 
shop  people,  disdaining  all  finessing  since  there  was 
no  time  to  be  lost  in  preliminary  courtesies,  swore 
roundly  at  one  another;  but  even  with  this,  it  was 
many  minutes  before  silver  dollars  were  exchanged 
for  heavy  strings  of  cash,  and  our  journey  could  be 
resumed.  And  it  was  with  a clear  sense  of  lost  face, 
for  even  the  crowd  around  us  knew  that  we  had  lost 


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V 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


I2g 

two  cash  in  every  hundred  because  there  was  a hasty 
foreigner  who  would  not  bargain  according  to  the 
established  custom. 

Thus,  with  pleasant  repartee  being  shouted  back 
by  our  men,  we  threaded  our  way  through  the  city, 
and  at  last  came  to  the  gates  where  the  pools  are 
most  treacherous,  and  where  the  broken  flags  of 
stone,  dating  from  happier  days,  offer  obstructions 
of  a terrible  character.  We  were  not  to  escape  so 
easily,  however,  for  just  as  we  all  were  breathing 
again,  a native  clerk  in  the  long  blue  coat  of  the 
counting-house  stepped  up  to  the  mules  of  the 

second  team  and  held  them  up  with  his  black  fan. 

The  second  carter  was  off  his  shafts  in  a trice  and 
busily  rolling  up  his  pig-tail  and  tightening  his 

girdle.  He  knew  what  was  coming.  The  man 

with  the  long  blue  coat  cynically  watched  these 
bellicose  preparations  — the  first  finessing  in  a land 
of  bluff  — and  then,  flicking  open  his  greasy  black 
fan,  began  very  slowly  and  very  irritatingly  to  cool 
himself. 

‘^So  you  leave  by  the  East  gate  at  an  hour  which 
is  not  the  general  hour  in  order  to  escape,”  he  began. 
‘H,  however,  require  payment  in  clean  cash  before 
you  proceed.” 

Then  the  fan  which  had  stopped  for  a few 
moments  commenced  to  wave  again,  and  the  carter 
blustered  and  yelled  in  the  agony  of  having  to  pay. 
But  he  was  young  and  clumsy;  and  the  passers-by, 
arrested  in  their  strollings  by  the  prospect  of  an 
eloquent  scene,  contemptuously  noted  that  the 


VOL.  I — K 


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CHAP. 


points  were  always  missed  and  that  it  was  not 
worth  waiting  for.  ^‘Pay/’  shouted  my  first  carter 
angrily;  ‘^pay/’  re-echoed  the  contemptuous  on- 
lookers; '^pay/'  said  my  humble  self,  whose  business 
it  was  not  to  interfere;  and  the  carter,  duly  con- 
vinced of  his  youth  and  his  clumsiness,  paid.  It  is 
always  in  this  manner  that  you  leave  a native  city 
when  you  patronise  the  old  methods  of  travel  — with 
the  last  domestic  details  settled  in  the  open  so  that 
everyone  may  bear  witness. 

In  the  open  country  the  rain  which  is  so  terrible 
for  the  roads  had  anointed  the  high-standing  kao- 
liang with  glistening  drops  until  the  air  was  laden 
with  the  fat  smell  of  rich  crops.  The  bountiful  soil 
of  Honan  province  signalled  out  by  the  scientist- 
traveller,  Richthofen,  as  the  most  wonderful  he  had 
ever  seen,  was  covered  with  crops  more  abundant 
and  luxurious  than  even  those  of  Central  Manchuria. 
To  find  kao-liang  ten  feet  high  is  nothing  — you  will 
see  that  even  in  dusty,  dry  Chihli  province.  But 
kao-liang  twelve  and  fourteen  feet  high,  with  great 
fat  heads  of  grain  so  swollen  that  they  almost  fall  to 
the  ground,  is  wonderful.  As  we  progressed  farther 
and  farther  afield  through  these  glistening  giant  crops 
stretching  mightily  in  every  direction,  the  world 
became  shut  in,  and  we  were  but  insignificant 
mortals  struggling  through  the  mud  and  slush  with 
our  carts  and  mule-teams  hidden  from  everything  by 
the  dense  mass  of  foliage  about  us.  The  year  1904 
has  been  a good  year,  and  even  discontented  farmers 
say  that  the  autumn  crops  will  be  wonderful  and 


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A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


131 


that  the  harvest  will  be  a ''ten- tenths,”  which  is  the 
hundred  per  cent,  of  Chinese  dreams. 

Occasionally  we  passed  other  carts  coming  down 
to  the  railway,  but  these  were  few  and  far  between, 
for  the  summer  and  the  rainy  season  clear  most  of 
the  traffic  from  the  roads,  and  all  but  a few  travellers 
wait  for  the  better  times.  The  rains  being  at  last 
left  behind,  the  sun,  rising  refreshed  and  re-invigor- 
ated after  two  days’  absence,  beat  down  on  iis  once 
more  with  devastating  heat.  It  was  bad  for  the 
roads  too,  and  when  you  are  on  the  road  it  is  the 
roads  and  the  roads  alone  which  engage  your 
attention  — for  the  water  and  slush  are  rapidly  dried 
up  by  the  sun,  and  are  succeeded  by  a caking  slime 
through  which  the  iron-studded  wheels  of  massive 
carts  tear  with  increasing  difficulty. 

The  country  sweeping  away  in  the  distance  was 
becoming  more  and  more  open;  for  the  road  now 
occasionally  curled  over  a baby  elevation,  and  these 
ups  and  downs  drained  the  water  from  the  highway 
excepting  in  a few  hollows.  Honan  and  its  special 
characteristics  were  now  clear  to  the  eye.  Walled 
villages,  embowered  in  great  clumps  of  ancient 
trees,  dotted  the  country  far  and  wide,  and  stood  out 
in  the  green  kao-liang-cldid  fields  like  so  many 
islands.  What  countless  villages  there  are  here ! 
Every  mile  or  two  along  the  road  you  come  across 
one;  first  the  outpost  trees  and  the  bare  plots  of 
common  threshing-ground ; then  a broken  and 
dilapidated  high  mud  wall,  with  perhaps  a mock 
cannon  or  two  painted  on  the  black  boards  which 


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A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


CHLAP. 


remain  in  some  places  on  the  top  of  the  fast- 
crumbling  battlements.  Then  street  upon  street  of 
mud-walled  compounds  which  surround  damaged 
and  weather-beaten  houses  of  indifferent  appearance, 
with  children  in  a state  of  nature  lurking  in  the 
doorways  who  rush  away  panic-stricken  at  the  sight 
of  the  white  man.  But  the  villages  dotted  so  thickly 
on  the  face  of  the  land  are  curiously  quiet  in  this 
shut-in  and  ancient  province  of  Honan.  If  you  are 
familiar  with  things  Chinese  you  expect  the  pariah 
dogs  to  rush  out  fiercely  barking  as  the  clatter 
of  your  cart  grows  louder  and  louder  — to  see  the 
naked  children  crowd  forward  calling  shrilly  to  the 
women  to  come,  making  each  doorway  the  frame 
for  a dozen  curious  faces.  But  you  are  disappointed, 
and  though  perhaps  you  are  relieved  you  are 
conscious  of  a strange  feeling.  Some  dogs  do  rush 
forward  and  then  cowardly  slink  away  — it  would 
not  be  China  if  they  did  not  do  that.  The  naked 
babies  tumble  over  one  another,  and  a stray  figure 
or  two  may  lurk  at  the  doorways;  but  it  is  all  very 
thin.  It  is,  in  fact,  what  the  walled  protection 
surrounding  the  villages  has  become,  a make- 
believe,  a mask  and  nothing  else.  Is  it  because 
you  are  crossing  a province  which,  rich  beyond 
belief,  has  seen  too  much  history  made,  and  has 
suffered  too  much,  not  to  show  the  imprint  of  the 
past?  But  forty  or  fifty  years  ago  the  Taipings  on 
their  northward  march  crossed  Honan,  and  when 
you  have  said  that  you  have  said  everything  — for 
where  the  Taipings  went,  it  was  ruination  to  men 


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133 


and  beasts.  Then  Honan  has  been  for  many 
centuries  a brigand  province ; the  mud  walls 
surrounding  each  village  were  built  because  of 
that,  and  the  brigands  must  have  bled  the  country 
so  fiercely  that  there  was  nothing  much  but  the 
rich  soil  left.  And  the  province  being  the  buffer 
between  Northern  and  Central  China  has  also  been 
a common  battleground,  and  too  many  hordes  have 
passed  across  it.  Thus  to-day  the  villages  are  very 
quiet  and  the  road  traffic,  which  is  a rich  business,  is 
all  in  the  hands  of  foreign  Chinese,  the  Shantung 
province  men,  who  go  everywhere ; whilst  the 
banking  and  selling  of  merchandise  belong  to  the 
provinces  of  Shansi  and  Shensi.  The  people  of  the 
province  merely  till  night  and  day,  and  are  chained  to 
the  soil. 

And  this  population  is  docile  and  curious  to  a 
degree.  At  noon,  maybe,  you  stop  and  unyoke  for 
an  hour  or  two.  The  inn  stable-hands  step  forward, 
very  ostentatiously,  so  that  their  services  may  be 
remembered  later  on,  and  furnishing  themselves  with 
great  iron  trowels,  scrape  the  mud  from  your  massive 
wheels,  slapping  it  ungraciously  to  the  ground;  then 
tilt  the  carts  alternately  on  to  their  off  and  near  sides, 
and  pour  oil  on  to  the  axle-bars,  and  spin  and  spin 
until  the  air  buzzes  and  you  may  know  that  you  are 
being  properly  served.  The  mules  have  their  noses 
already  luxuriously  deep  in  their  fodder-baskets, 
and  stamp  and  whisk  at  the  flies  with  their  thin 
tails,  and  munch  and  blow  the  air  through  their 
nostrils  to  show  that  they  are  tired  but  content. 


134 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


CHAP. 


The  carters,  their  first  cares  seen  to,  have  seated 
themselves  at  an  outdoor  table  in  the  inn  yard,  and 
from  a great  copper  tea-pot  pour  out  for  themselves 
big  bowls  of  steaming  tea,  on  which  they  also  blow 
and  gurgle  down,  rubbing  their  naked  legs  and 
pawing  at  their  ribs  after  the  manner  of  primitive 
man  who  loves  to  scratch.  Your  own  travel  food  is 
soon  inside  you  — it  is  not  good  to  eat  too  much 
when  you  voyage  in  a bumping  cart  — and  then  the 
docile  population  of  Honan,  shouted  away  with  mock 
warnings  by  the  chang-kuei-ti,  or  master  of  the  till, 
only  to  shuffie  back  a few  steps  and  then  trickle 
forward  a good  many  more,  attracts  your  attention. 
They  are  just  docile  and  listless,  and  that  is  all,  and 
there  are  far  too  few  of  them  for  the  size  of  the 
villages,  if  you  judge  size  by  the  extent  of  the 
ancient  mud  walls  and  the  great  barren  spaces  you 
see  on  every  side  where  houses  must  once  have 
stood.  They  are  also,  incidentally  as  it  were, 
munching  water-melons,  everybody  eating  a piece. 
The  men  have  fat  slices  so  big  that  two  hands  have 
to  be  brought  into  play,  and  the  most  convenient 
manner  becomes  squatting  on  the  haunches,  so  that 
the  knees  may  lend  a purchase;  the  women  have 
smaller  slices,  because  they  are  women;  and  a woman 
since  she  does  not  mai  li-chH  — sell  strength,  which 
means  heavy  manual  labour  — needs  not  so  much 
food;  the  children  and  the  babies  have  little  bits, 
mostly  rind,  because  they  are  small,  and  sucking 
melons  is  a pastime  for  the  large.  There  they 
therefore  stand,  the  thin  population  • of  Honan,  docile 


V 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


135 


and  somewhat  curious,  munching  their  everlasting 
water-melon  because  it  is  the  height  of  summer,  and 
the  cholera-season  is  at  hand,  but  munching  also 
because  water-melon  is  very  cheap  and  very  filling; 
and  when  you  have  filled  yourself  until  you  can  eat 
no  more  you  save  on  your  hard  food  which  can  be 
sold  — all  of.  which  is  good  economy,  but  bad  for  the 
population  at  large.  This  thin  population  chained 
to  the  soil,  and  these  century-old  villages,  are  fruitful 
problems,  because  there  is  no  startling  development 
possible  in  China  so  long  as  the  old  conditions 
continue  over  such  vast  stretches  of  the  country. 

The  women’s  clothes  here  in  old  Honan  are  very 
loose  and  full  — have  in  fact  a Chinese  Ming  Dynasty 
fulness,  and  none  of  the  Manchu  Ch’ing  tightness 
which  is  now  the  rightful  fashion.  The  head-dress 
and  the  old  silver  ornaments  — when  savings  permit 
of  silver  ornaments  — are  copied  from  very  old 
designs,  and  gazing  at  them  you  know  that  the 
march  of  centuries  has  been  very  little  heeded  here. 
Only  the  railway  coming  so  near  has  taught  them 
that  there  are  other  things  in  the  world  than  the 
few  they  have  known  of  here  for  twenty  centuries; 
and  now  it  has  become  the  custom  for  these  simple 
people  on  feast-days  and  holidays  to  set  out  in  their 
bullock  carts  long  before  cock  crows  and  travel 
dozens  of  miles  to  see  the  wonderful  new  thing. 
And  these  bullock  carts  — even  they  are  different  in 
design  from  those  seen  elsewhere.  They  are  older 
and  more  primitive  in  design,  just  such  square,  heavy 
carts  as  must  have  been  used  in  Babylonia. 


136 


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CHAP. 


The  carters  finish  their  tea-drinking,  and  hastily 
swallow  a bowl  of  small  millet  — no  self-respecting 
man  fills  himself  with  food  in  the  middle  of  the  day; 
the  mules  are  driven  into  their  hauling  collars  — the 
wrangle  with  the  inn-keeper  begins,  and  it  is  not 
ended  until  you  are  half  a mile  down  the  road. 
Then  once  more  the  great  millet  and  the  ever 
recurring  villages  slide  slowly  past  hour  after  hour 
in  the  hot  afternoon  sun,  and  bumping  and  slushing 
you  progress  slowly  but  surely  forward.  By  seven, 
or  at  latest  eight  in  the  evening,  you  have  done  your 
hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  li,  which  means 
from  thirty  to  forty  miles;  and  again  you  drive  clat- 
tering through  other  inn  gates. 

In  the  bigger  inns,  which  are  in  the  main  villages 
where  a night  halt  has  to  be  made,  there  is  still  some 
show  of  prosperity,  and  you  will  see  the  walls  of 
the  guest  rooms  covered  with  writing,  which  varies 
from  the  most  correct  of  despatch  hands  to  an 
undecipherable  ts^ao  tzu  or  grass  character,  the 
product  of  the  careless.  These  are  the  texts  and 
sayings  which  generations  of  travellers  have  perpe- 
tuated on  grimy  walls  to  while  away  time  and  banish 
care  as  they  halted  for  the  night.  Some  are  witty, 
many  are  sad,  and  many  are  obscene;  but  nearly  all 
make  pointed  reference  to  the  accommodation  which 
is  offered.  Writes  one  man:  ‘^The  terrors  of  civil 
war  are  great,  but  the  recurring  discomforts  of  the 
road  are  worse.”  Some  exclaim  at  the  sadness  of 
the  heart  when  far  from  home  and  kith  and  kin; 
others  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy’s  country  and 


\Face  page  136,  Vol.  I. 


V 


A HUNDRED  MELES  BY  CART 


137 


coarsely  curse  fleas  and  other  crawling  and  jumping 
animals.  One  written  in  the  hand  of  the  student 
read  something  like  this : — 

Little  flea, 

you  come  to  me, 

me,  the  unfortunate  traveller ; 

you  savage  mite, 

you  would  me  bite, 

me,  the  luckless  traveller. 

Verse  after  verse  of  such  sayings  adorned  the  walls; 
and  each  new  person  coming  from  afar  and  reading 
these  efforts  had  attempted  to  cap  the  last  text  he 
spied  with  one  better.  Most  of  such  things  are 
from  the  pens  of  young  Chinese  students  travelling 
up  to  the  provincial  capital,  Kaifengfu,  for  their 
examinations,  for  the  ordinary  man  is  too  illiterate 
to  find  pleasure  in  such  pastimes,  and  it  is  only  the 
literate  who  know  that  in  the  days  of  Yao  and 
Shun,  the  golden  age  of  some  four  thousand  years 
ago,  there  were  no  fleas. 

Meanwhile  it  is  baking  hot,  and  even  the  texts  of 
ribald  scholars,  deciphered  with  difficulty,  cease  to 
attract  one.  The  rains,  left  forty-eight  hours  behind, 
have  scarcely  touched  the  roads  here;  and  as  one 
approaches  Kaifengfu  and  the  Yellow  River,  the 
dryness  of  the  heat  becomes  more  and  more 
appalling.  Already  the  day  before  the  mercury  on 
a light  travelling  thermometer  had  crept  up  to  105 
degrees  in  the  doubtful  shade  of  the  blue  cart  cover, 
and  at  seven  that  evening  the  sun  had  set  blood-red 
and  congested  — a sure  sign  that  he  would  rise  again 
in  ten  hours  more  angry  and  insistent  than  ever. 


138 


A HUNDRED  MILE3  BY  CART 


CHAP. 


Even  the  carters  were  getting  anxious,  for  the 
mules,  capable  of  any  exertion  in  a temperate 
atmosphere,  were  dallying  over  their  food  — a fatal 
sign  for  any  Chinese  living  thing,  since  food  is  the 
first  consideration  of  most  of  the  hundreds  of 
millions  here  congregated.  At  the  noon-halt,  the 
first  carter  had  cursed  and  even  coaxed  the  wheeler 
of  the  baggage  cart.  “Dog’s  dropping  of  a mule,” 
he  had  sworn,  “can  you  not  see  it  is  good  food  such 
as  a man  might  eat?”  — lovingly  digging  holes  into  it 
with  his  own  fingers.  The  mule  thus  apostrophised 
had  merely  continued  to  nose  its  basket,  and  finally 
had  blown  an  immense  sigh  of  disgust  through  its 
distended  nostrils.  “Oh,”  had  groaned  the  carter, 
“it  is  no  use,  she  tells  me  she  has  fire,  how  indeed 
can  she  eat?”  Then  he  had  gently  mixed  her  fresh 
food,  very  wet,  wdth  all  the  coarse  kao-liang  straw 
thrown  out;  but  although  this  kind  attention  had 
been  rewarded  by  the  mule  gingerly  licking  up  the 
water-soaked  bran  to  cool  herself,  she  w^ould  not  eat 
as  mules  should  eat.  So  the  carter  had  resigned 
himself  to  the  inevitable  and  insinuated  to  the  inn- 
keeper that  he  might  need  another  mule.  “Might,” 
retorted  the  latter,  “everybody  in  the  inn  has  seen 
that  she  has  fire  for  half-an-hdur  past;  there  is  one 
mule  at  two  hundred  cash  a day.”  The  carter 
fenced,  but  at  160  he  had  to  accept,  and  henceforth 
the  mule  with  fire  travelled  with  hurt  dignity  tied  to 
the  tail  of  her  cart  to  the  provincial  capital.  You 
must  be  careful  when  a mule  has  fire  or  else  you 
will  lose  her.  And  behind  our  cavalcade  came 


V 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


139 


another  man  — a man  from  the  inn  mounted  on  a 
derelict  pony  — who  came  to  see  that  payment  was 
made  and  that  the  mule  was  returned,  for  who  can 
say  where  a carter  will  arrive  if  there  is  no  one  to 
watch  him?  John  Chinaman  takes  no  risks.  It 
was  for  this  reason  that  the  carters  approached  me 
at  nine  in  the  evening  and  said  that  we  must 
make  a start  at  two  in  the  morning  and  rest  when 
the  heat  was  at  its  worst.  So,  to  prevent  untimely 
deaths,  it  was  decided  that  we  would  start  before  the 
cocks  had  crowed,  which  biblical  saying  is  still  in 
vogue  on  the  old  cart  roads  of  China. 

Two  o^clock  came  and  the  carters  lumberingly 
made  ready.  In  fifteen  minutes  we  were  off  by 
bright  moonlight  through  the  silent  and  deserted 
village  streets.  We  reached  a dilapidated  gateway 
and  called  on  the  village  watchman  to  unbar. 
‘‘Open  the  great  gates,”  we  chorused  discordantly 
and  sleepily,  until  the  watchman,  aroused  from  his 
slumbers,  slouched  surlily  forward  from  the  guard- 
house with  his  rattle  under  his  arm.  It  is  unlawful 
to  leave  at  night  and  therefore  you  must  pay;  and 
the  sleeping  custodian  of  peace,  who  in  theory 
watches,  pocketing  his  cash,  unbarred  and  let  us 
out.  What  a scene  beyond ! 

The  walled  village,  perched  on  an  irregular  square 
of  rising  ground  and  embowered  in  clumps  of  old 
trees,  stood  out  a sombre,  imposing  mass  against  the 
lighter  background  of  endless  fields.  The  moon, 
still  high  in  the  heavens,  flooded  the  whole  country 
with  a silver  light,  and  in  its  soft  rays  everything  but 


140 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


CHAP. 


the  picturesque  was  obliterated.  The  narrow  gate- 
ways rising  many  feet  above  the  brown  mud  walls 
were  not  like  the  massive  northern  gateways  built 
to  keep  out  barbarian  hordes ; they  looked  much 
older  in  design,  less  square  and  less  defiant  than 
those  to  which  one  is  accustomed.  In  the  quiet  night 
it  seemed  somehow  as  if  their  design  had  been 
perhaps  treasured  up  in  brains  that  had  travelled 
from  afar  many  thousands  of  years  before  — all  the 
way  from  Mesopotamia.  The  faint  paint-marks 
still  left  on  the  woodwork  had  none  of  the  fierce 
vermilion  reds  and  clear  greens  loved  by  all  Mongol 
and  Tartar  rulers.  The  colours,  renovated  at  rare 
intervals,  were  calmer  and  more  peaceful,  and  the 
blue  — a peculiar  blue  — is  like  what  the  very  old 
Chinese  must  have  used.  These  may  be  but  fancies 
which  come  to  the  half-sleeping  brain;  but  remem- 
bering the  curious  century-old  carts  with  their 
wheels  of  solid  wood,  the  women’s  ornaments  and 
other  things,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  in  Honan 
to  this  day  traces  of  very  long  ago  may  still  be 
found. 

Thus  bumping  along  over  interminable  roads, 
night  passed  into  day.  Once  more  the  heat  beat 
down  and  once  more  we  panted  and  sweated.  At 
eleven  in  the  morning  we  stopped,  only  forty-five  li 
from  the  provincial  capital,  having  covered  thirty- 
five  miles  since  our  night  start.  The  mules, 
however,  were  trembling  violently  with  their  ears 
laid  far  back  — sure  signs  of  a great  exhaustion. 
The  carters,  muttering  to  themselves  that  this  was 


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A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


141 

no  way  to  travel,  threw  water  over  the  beasts’  legs,  set 
the  stable  hands  to  rubbing  them  all  over  with  damp 
steaming  cloths,  whilst  they  themselves  further 
sprayed  mouthful  after  mouthful  of  cold  water  over 
the  animals’  nostrils  by  blowing  violently  with  their 
cheeks  puffed  out.  And  after  ten  minutes  of  this 
treatment  the  mules  appeared  to  be  recovering. 
But  would  they  eat?  The  baskets  were  dumped  in 
front  of  them  with  plenty  of  grain  and  bran  on  top 
of  the  coarse  straw,  and  then  — they  ate ! The 
carters  chortled  and  the  she-mule  with  fire  began 
whinnying  after  the  curious  mule  fashion,  to  show 
that  she,  too,  could  eat  now.  Ugh,  it  was  all  right; 
we  could  sleep  and  yet  reach  the  capital  before 
nightfall. 

At  three  o’clock  we  started  again  refreshed  but 
dripping  with  perspiration.  The  sun,  still  high  in  the 
heavens,  was  rapidly  losing  its  sting.  At  eleven 
o’clock  it  had  been  108  degrees.  Now  with  a faint 
breeze  stirring  the  air  it  was  not  more  than  100. 
Above  blood-heat  each  degree  is  recorded  by  your 
watchful  system  as  accurately  as  on  a thermometer, 
and  for  each  degree  that  the  mercury  falls  you  are 
inclined  to  pray  a fervent  prayer. 

Around  us  as  we  half  cantered  forward  it  was 
still  everlasting  kao-liang  with  an  occasional  patch  of 
barley  or  wheat;  but  the  soil,  so  amazingly  rich  a 
few  dozen  miles  behind,  was  fast  becoming  less 
generous.  The  Yellow  River  and  its  distressing 
sands  were  modifying  the  country,  and  you  felt  it 
becoming  drier  and  drier  each  step  the  mules  took 


142  A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART  chap. 

forward.  At  half-past  four  we  passed  a village  with 
great  banks  of  sand  piled  thirty  feet  high  against 
its  inner  walls  — the  deadly  mark  left  by  the  river  in 
some  bygone  time  when  it  had  broken  its  banks  and 
carried  death  and  destruction  far  and  wide.  Shallow 
and  sandy  streams  had  been  crossed  by  us  all  day 
long.  Now  it  was  getting  too  dry  even  for  such 

little  waterways,  and  we  plodded  along  over  road- 
ways with  ever  deepening  sand-tracks  left  behind  us. 
At  six  o’clock  we  caught  a glimpse  of  a high  pagoda 
as  we  curved  over  a piece  of  rising  ground. 
‘‘P’ien-liang,”  cried  the  carter,  pointing  with  his 

whip  to  the  tower  and  using  the  colloquial  term  for 
Kaifengfu.  It  was  true.  I could  trace  the  city 

walls  spreading  out  mile  after  mile  along  the  plain, 
and  capped  at  regular  intervals  by  their  high-stand- 
ing towers.  It  was  Kaifengfu  at  last  after  four  days 
of  exhausting  travel. 

We  urged  the  tired  mules  on  with  shouts,  feigning 
the  whip-crack  after  the  Chinese  fashion  with  the 

tongue,  and  we  finally  reached  the  outlying  suburbs 
which  always  straggle  far  beyond  city  walls.  Out- 
side the  gates  was  a great  open  space,  and  to  the 
left  of  the  roadway  a tall  modern  smoke-stack 
towered  above  a long  line  of  new  brick  buildings. 
Gay  bugle  calls  smote  our  ears,  the  new-fangled 
foreigner’s  bugle.  Soldiers  began  to  appear,  loung- 
ing about  in  dozens  in  their  new  uniforms ; tall 
well-built  fellows,  openly  inquisitive  in  place  of  the 
former  pre-Boxer  surliness.  More  trumpet  calls 
and  bugle  calls ; the  gates  of  the  brick  buildings 


V 


A HUNDRED  MILES  BY  CART 


143 


which  boasted  of  a modern  smoke-stack  were  flung 
open  and  mechanics  streamed  out.  It  is  a modern 
arsenal ; the  troops  are  modern  foreign-drilled 
troops,  and  here  in  the  middle  of  Honan  after  more 
than  a hundred  miles  of  waving  kao-liang^  walled 
and  half-deserted  villages  reposing  in  the  bliss  of 
ignorance,  and  a population  engaged  in  finding 
enough  food  for  its  belly,  is  a city  which  after  the 
manner  of  Chinese  cities  sucks  the  strength  from 
the  country,  and  is  now  engaged  in  attempting  to 
make  up  for  lost  time  by  adopting  some  things 
belonging  to  the  West.  It  is  worthy  of  investigation. 


CHAPTER  VI 


KA.IFENGFU,  ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  AND  ON  TO 

PEKING 

Our  carts  clattered  forward,  the  people  stared, 
we  passed  the  gates.  “Aho!’’  called  the  city- 
guards,  rushing  up  hurriedly,  “a  Western  guest; 
stop,  stupid  carters!’’  For  the  carters  it  was  a 
peremptory  order ; for  myself  an  intimation  that 
so-called  Western  guests  are  under  close  scrutiny; 
so  we  duly  stopped.  The  sergeant  of  the  city  guard 
hurried  up  to  me,  and  with  a deep  bow,  ‘^Pardon 
me,  your  Excellency,  our  own  Excellency,  the  Vice- 
roy (this  was  a polite  lie,  for  he  is  but  a provincial 
Governor),  expressly  handing  to  our  care  foreign 
gentlemen,  requests  that  you  will  give  a card  so  that 
official  quarters  may  be  prepared.”  I smiled  and 
understood.  This  was  the  reflex  action  of  those 
numerous  sententious  Imperial  edicts  issued  since 
the  great  tribulation  of  1900,  calling  on  Viceroys, 
Governors,  and  all  provincial  officials  to  remember 
their  manners  towards  the  white  man  and  ‘‘to 
protect.”  I was  being  protected. 

A Chinese  official  card  was  dug  out  of  a twelve- 


144 


CH.  VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


145 


inch  Moukden  card-case.  ‘‘This  for  the  Viceroy, 
Excellency,’’  said  the  attentive  sergeant,  holding  out 
his  hand  for  more.  Another  was  dealt  to  him.  “This 
for  the  provincial  Treasurer;  there  are  yet  the  Judge, 
the  city  Governor,  the  Chief  of  Police,  and  the 
Records  to  be  remembered.”  I handed  him  de- 
spairingly half-a-dozen  — luckily  cards  are  cheap  in 
China,  for  the  red  paper  of  which  they  are  made 
is  thin,  and  you  may  have  a thousand  for  the  same 
price  as  a hundred  in  the  West.  Then  we  clattered 
on,  only  to  be  halted  once  more  to  know  what  our 
city  address  would  be.  “City  address!  ask  at  the 
inns,”  I replied. 

On  we  drove  down  street  after  street  with  the 
city  crowds,  which  never  lack  in  China,  staring  us 
out  of  countenance.  Half-an-hour  passed  and  I 
became  angry.  “Where  are  you  taking  us  to?”  I 
asked  of  the  carters.  “To  the  inns,  to  the  inns; 
do  you  not  know  that  the  city  walls  are  thirty-eight 
li  long,  and  that  this  is  no  village?”  So  on  we  drove 
until  the  streets  finally  narrowed  down,  and  the  mud 
left  by  the  rains  changed  from  brown  to  dark  brown, 
and  from  dark  brown  to  the  indescribable  Chinese 
city  black,  distinguished  amongst  all  the  muds  of  the 
earth  for  its  devastating  and  indescribable  stench. 
Yes,  this  was  the  inner  city,  and  since  China  is 
a century  or  two  behind  the  rest  of  the  world,  the 
inns  still  cluster  around  the  Government  offices,  so 
that  men  seeking  preferment  have  but  a step  to  go 
from  where  they  lodge  to  the  back  doors  of  the 
office-holders.  Alas  1 I had  arrived  in  the  very 

VOL.  I — L 


146 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


season  when  such  gentry  are  thickly  gathered,  for 
at  each  door  there  was  the  same  cry  — not  a room, 
not  a bed.  At  last,  arriving  at  one  place  of  imposing 
appearance  (after  the  wretched  inns  on  the  country 
roads),  I peremptorily  demanded  the  best  rooms,  or 
else  I would  really  invoke  the  help  of  the  Governor. 
Fluent  vernacular  and  this  invoking  of  the  higher 
authorities  proved  miraculous;  I was  offered  accom- 
modation fit  for  servants.  Protesting,  I was  met 
with  the  glib  statement  that  a great  man  travelling 
to  Peking  had  engaged  all  the  best.  ^‘Show  me  the 
great  man,”  I exclaimed,  determined  to  be  properly 
treated.  My  angry  voice  had,  however,  brought 
him  forth  without  any  calling,  and  soon  I was 
assuring  an  independent  Prefect  of  Southern  Honan 
that  I would  gladly  take  half  his  accommodation. 
The  Prefect,  being  a Chinese  gentleman,  bowed  and 
accepted  me,  and  at  l^st  after  this  wearying  delay  I 
could  rest  in  peace. 

Kaifengfu  is  a city  of  more  than  mediocre  im- 
portance. Placed  strategically  but  a few  miles  from 
the  banks  of  the  Yellow  River,  with  a triple  dyke 
system  of  mighty  earth-works  protecting  it  from  the 
dread  water  attacks,  it  has  often  been  a city  of  refuge 
for  the  Emperors  of  China.  Once  from  a.d.  960  to 
1129  it  was  the  capital  of  China.  Then  northern 
China,  the  real  North  which  only  begins  across  the 
Yellow  River,  was  overrun  by  marauding  Kin  and 
Kitan  Tartars,  and  Chinese  dynasties,  which  suc- 
ceeded one  another  with  some  rapidity,  sought  refuge 
by  placing  the  broad  and  swift-flowing  river,  called 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


147 


“China’s  sorrow,”  between  them  and  their  enemies. 
Since  those  far-off  days  it  has  sunk  in  importance, 
but  the  vast  extent  of  its  walls,  its  still  existing 
Imperial  Palaces,  and  the  pride  of  its  scholars,  are 
still  fruitful  themes  in  the  provinces.  During  the 
’fifties,  the  Taipings  on  their  march  to  Peking  came 
across  Kaifengfu,  and  finding  the  city  obdurate  and 
disinclined  to  open  its  gates  to  long-haired  rebels, 
made  an  attempt  to  carry  it  by  direct  assault.  The 
attack  was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss.  Then  the  cruel 
rebel  leaders  turned  their  eyes  and  thought  of  the 
treacherous  Yellow  River.  “Let  us  cut  the  dykes 
and  flood  them  out  like  rats,”  they  said.  The  dykes 
were  duly  cut  and  the  city  half  swamped.  Then 
it  capitulated,  and  the  vast  mounds  and  deso- 
late wastes  of  sand  which  still  surround  its  walls 
for  many  miles  testify  eloquently  to  the  ravage 
committed  half  a century  ago. 

Not  many  miles  below  the  city  you  may  see 
another  interesting  sight.  It  was  at  this  point  that 
the  Yellow  River  a few  decades  ago  changed  its 
channel,  so  that  instead  of  flowing  into  the  sea 
through  the  province  of  Kiangsu,  it  swung  north, 
and  emptied  itself  into  the  shallow  Gulf  of  Pechili, 
many  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  its  former  mouth. 
Had  Kaifengfu  been  but  a score  or  two  miles  lower 
down  it  would  then  have  been  blotted  out  of  existence 
like  so  many  thousands  of  villages  and  towns  in  that 
terrible  year. 

In  the  morning  I was  early  afoot  sight-seeing  and 
official-calling.  Here,  issuing  from  the  doors  of  the 


148 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


“Inn  of  Bounteous  Prosperity,”  everything  is  close 
at  hand;  and  a few  steps  brought  me  to  the  vast 
courtyards  of  the  Provincial  Governor,  the  Provin- 
cial Treasurer,  and  other  important  magnates.  But 
more  interesting  than  these  things  were  the  streets, 
not  on  account  of  their  shops,  their  crowds  or  their 
curiosities,  but  on  account  of  their  armed  guards. 
In  the  old  days  of  but  four  years  ago,  you  might 
wander  to  your  heart’s  content  over  all  the  length  and 
breadth  of  China  and,  excepting  in  the  camps,  never 
see  an  armed  red-coat.  Now  how  different ! Here  in 
Kaifengfu  gay  bugling  had  involuntarily  heralded 
my  entry  into  the  city ; guards  and  soldiers  had 
lounged  in  great  numbers  at  the  gates;  and  now,  in 
the  inner  city,  a rifle-armed  sentry  stood  at  every 
street  comer.  Nor  were  these  soldiers  or  the  arms 
they  carried  of  the  old  make-believe  regime.  Each 
man  was  a tall  well-built  fellow,  clad  in  a good  new 
tunic  and  a dark  blue  turban,  with  ammunition 
pouches  and  a bayonet  at  his  side,  and  a very 
modern  Mauser  rifle  on  his  shoulder.  Each  man 
also  stood  for  that  new  and  little-understood  thing. 
Re-armed  China,  and  each  carried  the  lesson  of 
the  Boxer  year  on  his  shoulder  — that  a rifle  to  be 
useful  must  be  kept  spotless  and  perfectly  sound, 
and  must  be  provided  with  plenty  of  suitable  ammu- 
nition. Half  a dozen  times  I stopped  in  front  of 
these  saluting  street  sentries,  and  after  some  mild 
banter  examined  rifles,  bayonets,  and  ammunition 
pouches.  Everything  was  spotless  and  in  first-rate 
order,  and  each  man  had  twenty  clips  of  Mauser 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


149 


ammunition  ready  at  his  belt.  The  old  Chinese 
levies  used  to  have  their  names  clumsily  written  on 
a large  piece  of  red  paper,  which  was  elegantly 
pasted  across  the  butt  end  of  the  rifle  — a rifle  which 
also  used  to  carry  a few  assorted  odds  and  ends, 
such  as  pipe-lighting  spills  of  paper,  a tobacco-pouch, 
and  many  other  things  strung  on  it.  I had  even 
come  across  a small  party  of  these  archaic  soldiery 
engaged  in  brigand  hunting  at  the  last  railway 
station  I had  left.  In  Kaifengfu,  however,  there 
was  none  of  that.  Each  man’s  rifle  was  numbered 
in  the  proper  fashion,  and  the  admirable  manner 
in  which  these  men  brought  their  weapons  up  to  the 
present,  with  the  whole  body  responding  and  every 
muscle  hard-strung,  would  have  been  a revelation 
to  European  soldiers  accustomed  to  the  old-time 
ragamuffins  who  once  did  duty  as  soldiers  in  this 
Celestial  Empire. 

I passed  into  some  of  the  Yamens  and  our  con- 
versation turned  on  soldiers  and  wars.  Already 
Kaifengfu  possesses  eight  battalions  or  four  thousand 
men  of  these  well-armed  and  well-drilled  men;  the 
arsenal  I had  seen  outside  the  city  was  not  yet  in 
proper  working  condition,  but  soon  it  would  be,  and 
then,  although  many  parts  would  have  to  come  from 
the  Wuchang  or  Kiangnan  main  arsenals,  rifles 
could  be  turned  out  here  and  all  minor  repairs 
rapidly  effected.  ‘^We  have  water  power  too,”  said 
one  of  my  official  friends;  “the  Yellow  River  is 
there,  and  is,  as  you  will  presently  see,  a terribly 
swift-flowing  stream.  Already  a Japanese  contractor 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


ISO 


has  been  here  wishing  to  put  up  electric  plant  for 
us.  It  is  not  yet  quite  decided,  but  it  is  probable 
that  we  shall  agree.’’  What  changes  are  indeed 
taking  place  in  China  and  how  the  cities  are  pushing 
far  ahead  of  the  country  districts.  In  a few  years 
there  will  be  mighty  and  far-reaching  developments, 
although  the  changes,  as  long  as  the  rural  districts 
are  held  back,  will  be  lop-sided  ones. 

But  if  you  love  the  old  and  the  quaint  you  may 
still  find  many  interesting  things  in  Kaifengfu. 
There  is  here  the  last  remains  of  one  of  the  most 
curious  and  unexplained  things  in  the  world,  a colony 
of  Chinese  Jews  planted  in  the  middle  of  a vast 
Empire  and  possessing  no  history  to  explain  how 
they  got  there.  Their  existence  has  long  been  known 
in  China,  for  even  Marco  Polo,  that  gossiping 
traveller,  mention^  them  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
Then  they  must  have  been  a powerful  colony,  for  in 
the  fourteenth  century  they  were  invited  by  the 
Mongol  Emperors  of  China  to  send  men  and  money 
to  aid  the  Imperial  Standards.  For  the  last  three 
centuries,  however,  all  these  Chinese  Jews  have 
lived  in  Kaifengfu  and  no  trace  of  others  has  been 
found  in  any  other  part  of  the  Empire.  The  only 
thing  they  themselves  claim  to  know  is  that  they 
entered  China  ‘Through  the  North-Western  route 
during  the  Han  Dynasty,  which  was  two  thousand 
years  ago.” 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1700  that  these  curious 
persons  were  first  seen  by  a white  man.  Then  a 
Jesuit  Father,  Pere  Gozani,  visited  Kaifengfu  and 


\^Face page  150,  Vol.  /. 


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.VI  ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  151 

wrote  the  earliest  existing  description  of  the  colony. 
The  synagogue,  called  the  Ch’ing-chee  Ssu,  ^‘the  pure 
and  true  temple,’’  was  then  a large  establishment  con- 
sisting of  four  separate  courts  and  various  buildings 
enclosed  for  residence,  worship,  and  work.  The 
synagogue  itself  measured  sixty  feet  in  length  and 
forty  in  breadth,  and  was  embellished  by  a double 
row  of  stone  columns  standing  before  it.  In  the  centre 
of  the  building  was  the  throne  of  Moses,  a magnificent 
and  elevated  chair  with  an  embroidered  seat,  on 
which  was  placed  the  Book  of  the  Law  when  it  was 
read.  But  this  was  in  the  days  of  two  centuries  ago. 
Stirred  by  these  accounts,  in  1851  an  English 
Bishop  in  China,  Bishop  Smith,  sent  two  native 
Christians  from  Shanghai  to  learn  the  condition  of 
these  Chinese  Jews;  but  the  messengers  after  a pro- 
longed absence  returned  with  the  report  that  the 
Jews  were  penniless,  that  their  synagogue  had  been 
practically  destroyed,  and  that  they  had  only 
succeeded  in  copying  some  portions  of  the  Old 
Testament  which  they  found  there  written  on  a 
vellum  of  great  age.  Finally  in  1866  Dr.  Martin, 
an  American  missionary,  set  out  from  Peking 
determined  to  investigate  the  whole  matter  most  thor- 
oughly and  to  see  what  really  remained.  Of  the 
former  synagogue  he  found  that  only  one  solitary  stone 
remained,  but  on  this  stone  he  was  able  to  decipher 
an  inscription  commemorating  the  erection  of  the 
synagogue  in  a.d.  1183  and  its  re-building  in  1488. 
He  also  learnt  that  the  colony,  sunk  in  the  deepest 
poverty  and  having  lost  all  knowledge  of  their 


152 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


sacred  tongue,  the  traditions,  and  the  ritual  worship, 
had  sold  the  ruins  of  their  temple  for  building 
materials,  and  that  of  the  ancient  faith  nothing 
remained.  It  was  this  knowledge  which  urged  the 
Jewish  Association  of  Shanghai  a few  years  ago  to 
attempt  a rescue.  Members  of  the  Jewish  com- 
munity in  London  were  interested  in  the  undertaking, 
and  a mission  sent  to  Kaifengfu,  which  brought  back 
six  Chinese  Jews.  These  are  now  being  instructed, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  this  ancient  community  which 
has  travelled  so  far  and  whose  history  is  a mystery 
may  regain  something  of  its  lost  position.  But  this 
hope  seems  too  optimistic. 

It  was  with  this  story  in  my  head  that  I set 
out  with  a Mohammedan  from  the  inn  to  see 
what  there  was  to  be  seen.  We  arrived  in  the 
Mohammedan  quarter,  which  practically  sur- 
rounds the  some- time  Jewish  quarter,  but  there  was 
little  to  learn.  My  Chinese  Mohammedan  was 
merely  amused,  knowing  nothing  of  history  except- 
ing the  history  of  cash,  and  told  me  that  the  only 
thing  he  knew  was  that  the  people  I sought  were 
formerly  called  lan-mao  hui-tzu,  or  blue-capped 
Mohammedans,  but  that  now  they  and  the  ordinary 
Chinese  Moslems  were  “one  people.’’  It  was  only 
after  a lot  of  trouble  that  an  old  woman  was  dis- 
covered whose  appearance  promised  well.  Her 
nose  was  hooked  and  her  manners  expansive;  but 
alas!  when  I used  three  entirely  different  Chinese 
expressions  for  Jew,  she  understood  none  of  them. 
“But  still  you  are  not  a Mohammedan,”  I argued. 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


153 


‘‘No,  I am  not,  it  is  true,  but  I am  not  what  you  say 
I am.”  Presently  she  went  indoors  and  fetched  out 
a small  boy  with  a nose  which  no  Chinaman  could 
possess  were  he  of  the  pure  race.  “What  is  he?” 
she  asked.  The  shape  of  the  head  was  not  that  of 
the  Chinaman,  the  lips  were  thick,  the  nose  curved 
and  the  pig- tail  looked  odd  enough.  “He  is  a Jew,” 
I answered.  The  old  woman  chuckled.  “This  is  a 
true  Mohammedan  who  eats  no  pork.”  It  is  evidently 
an  undeniable  fact;  the  Chinese  Mohammedans  and 
the  few  remaining  Jews  in  Kaifengfu  resemble  each 
other  so  closely  that  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish 
them.  They  live  all  together  and  for  years  have  so 
intermarried  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  pure- 
blooded  Chinese  Jews  now  remain.  And  from 
subsequent  investigation  it  was  clear  that  the  practice 
of  circumcision  had  fallen  into  desuetude.  With  no 
synagogue,  no  books,  and  no  circumcision,  it  will 
require  a good  deal  of  effort  to  restore  this  curious 
lost  tribe  to  its  former  position,  and  there  can  there- 
fore be  but  scant  hope  of  a separate  Chinese  Jewish 
community  ever  existing  again. 

In  Kaifengfu  there  are  many  other  sights  to  be 
seen.  The  Imperial  Palaces,  which  have  been  com- 
pletely restored  recently,  are  quite  interesting  in  a 
way.  In  1901  the  Empress  Dowager  and  the 
Emperor,  on  their  way  back  to  Peking  after  their 
terrified  flight  to  distant  Hsianfu,  stopped  here  for 
several  weeks  while  making  up  their  minds  whether 
it  was  really  safe  to  venture  back  into  the  Peking 
lions’  den.  They  finally  moved  on,  and  since  then 


154 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


these  palaces,  insignificant  after  the  grandiose 
enclosures  and  vast  buildings  of  the  Forbidden 
City,  but  still  distinguished,  have  been  vigorously 
kept  up.  But  once  you  have  passed  through  the 
T^ai  Hou-men  into  the  T’ai  Hou-tien  and  the 
Beyond  in  great  Peking,  where  the  innumerable 
Imperial  concubines  and  the  sexless  eunuchs  live, 
there  is  nothing  to  describe  in  such  a place  as 
this. 

Here  in  Kaifengfu,  the  vague  rumours  of  heavy 
fighting  in  Manchuria,  which  had  been  in  the  air  for 
many  days  since  the  Yangtsze  had  been  left  behind, 
crystallised  into  ^ facts.  At  the  provincial  Governor’s 
Yamen  copies  of  Reuter’s  telegrams  re- transmitted 
by  the  Imperial  Chinese  Telegraphs  were  daily 
received.  It  is  a sign  of  the  times  that  in  such  an 
unknown  place  as  Kaifengfu  you  may  learn  almost 
as  quickly  to-day  the  news  of  the  outer  world  as  you 
could  in  an  European  city.  And  this  news,  really 
only  for  official  ears,  is  known  at  the  inns  very  few 
minutes  after  its  arrival  in  the  city,  so  that  gentry 
from  the  country  districts  who  have  come  up  to  the 
capital  on  special  business,  talk  of  Kuroki’s  successes 
in  a way  which  would  have  been  impossible  five 
years  ago.  Everywhere  there  are  signs  that  a new 
China  is  being  born. 

But  it  was  time  to  prepare  for  the  forward  march. 
Ahead  was  the  formidable  Yellow  River  whose 
pleasure  has  to  be  consulted  in  these  summer-flood 
times;  and  as  the  water  was  sinking  there  was  not  a 
minute  to  be  lost  In  the  morning  we  arose  early, 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


155 


my  official  friend  travelling  to  Peking  suddenly 
making  up  his  mind  not  to  dally  any  longer  but  to 
move  on  with  me.  So  my  carts  and  his  filled  the 
courtyards,  and  now  to  the  general  mise  en  scene  was 
added  the  picturesqueness  of  his  outriders,  his  tHng- 
ch^aij  his  lantern-bearers  for  night  travel,  and  his 
body  servants,  who  soon  all  raised  a vast  din.  By 
5.30  I was  ready;  at  six  and  even  6.30  the 
official  callers  were  still  pouring  in  making  their 
adieux  to  the  departing  Prefect  (who  was  a rich  man), 
and  were  whispering  a few  last  messages  for  Peking 
ears  into  his  own  no  less  worthy  ones.  For  you  see 
transmission  by  written  despatch  is  only  reserved  for 
such  official  business  as  may  see  the  light  of  day. 
Those  little  things  concerning  the  apportioning  of 
all-important  silver  sycee  are  too  precious  and  too 
delicate  to  be  trusted  to  tell-tale  parchment.  Big 
men  such  as  Viceroys,  Governors,  Provincial 
Treasurers,  Generals  and  High  Commissioners  have 
their  own  private  agents  in  Peking  to  whom  speed  at 
regular  intervals  other  trusted  retainers,  with  a few 
words,  and  perhaps  a slip  of  thin  rice  paper  adorned 
with  a few  mystic  characters  slipped  through  the 
thick  jade  ring  they  wear  on  the  thumb.  In  the 
hands  of  such  men  is  placed  the  management  of 
affairs  concerning  the  periodic  payment  of  small 
sums  of  money  to  everybody  who  counts  in  the 
Peking  scheme  of  things.  But  small  officials,  whose 
incomes  (squeeze  and  all  included)  are  only  in  four 
figures  of  tael  weights,  can  afford  no  such  luxuries 
as  special  agents,  and  therefore  friends  travelling  to 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


156 


the  great  capital,  having  been  duly  feasted  and  pro- 
pitiated, whisper  the  necessary  words  and  explain  as 
best  they  can  the  ever  diminishing  resources  of  this 
and  that  man’s  domain.  It  is  a curious  system 
which  has  grown  up  with  the  passage  of  ages  and 
which  everyone  is  powerless  and  unwilling  to  stop. 

For  this  reason  it  was  some  time  before  we  got 
off,  slopping  through  the  black  mud  of  the  city 
streets  and  gaining  the  open  beyond  the  walls.  Out- 
side, the  sand  dunes  rose  and  fell  away  in  every 
direction;  and  the  cart  wheels  sank  axle-deep  into 
the  sand  and  loam.  The  mules,  at  first  hustled 
along  with  the  eternal  calls  and  shouts  of  the  road 
and  the  heavy  cracking  of  whips,  soon  began  to 
amble  forward  easily  of  their  own  accord  with  their 
hauling  collars  clinging  tightly  about  their  necks  — 
they  smelt  and  felt  the  water,  and  having  done  the 
journey  many  times  welcomed  the  change  which  the 
river-banks  would  bring  them.  It  is  known  to  you, 
being  an  intelligent  traveller,  that  the  Yellow  River 
is  dyked  and  dammed  in  many  ways  and  has  been  so 
since  the  beginning  of  time;  but  in  spite  of  this  you 
pass  the  first  line  of  embankments,  five  miles  from 
the  river,  almost  without  noticing  them.  Then  as 
you  look  back  you  see  that  the  cart  road  has  climbed 
a great  height,  and  that  it  has  slid  through  the  top 
of  a dyke,  which  rises  high  above  the  level  of  the 
country,  by  means  of  a narrow  open  cut.  This 
makes  you  watchful,  but  this  is  only  dyke  number 
one,  many  miles  from  the  water.  Between  this  one 
and  the  next  one  there  are  the  same  miles  of  fields 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


157 


of  waving  kao-liang  covering  the  ground  ten  feet 
high  — a silent  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  China- 
man would  cultivate  the  very  face  of  the  waters  could 
he  but  devise  a means  of  making  floating  gardens 
pay. 

Two  miles  farther  on  you  come  to  the  second  dyke, 
reed-grown  and  grass-grown  so  as  to  bind  it  together 
with  the  utmost  strength.  The  summit  of  this  one 
is  fifty  feet  high  in  the  air.  Still  from  the  top  of 
this  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  except  the  sun’s 
rays  glittering  on  the  sandy  roadways  with  perhaps 
a faint  sparkle  far  away.  Then  after  another  half- 
hour  you  climb  a third  embankment  which  is  higher 
still,  and  there,  only  a mile  off,  is  the  river  with  dead- 
level  banks  of  exactly  the  same  colour  as  the  water. 
The  mules  whinny  and  canter  forward,  because  now 
the  sun  has  become  baking  hot,  and  swiftly  flowing 
water  means  a little  coolness  and  perhaps  a faint 
breeze.  Ahead  of  you,  clinging  to  the  river-edge, 
is  a group  of  ramshackle  reed-built  tea-inns  and  a 
few  rough  mule  stables ; on  the  river  itself  are  a 
dozen  very  square  and  immensely  heavily  built  junks 
with  great  masts  rising  stiffly  above  them.  It  is 
the  point  of  embarkation  for  the  combined  armies 
now  moving  down  in  a long  line  of  carts.  We 
canter  in,  the  mules  are  unyoked,  and  in  five 
minutes  carts  and  beasts  are  aboard.  I am  the 
official  guest  of  my  official  friend,  and  an  official  junk 
flying  a red  emblazoned  flag  awaits  our  pleasure. 
Let  it  wait  whilst  we  cool  ourselves  with  boiling 
tea ! 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


158 


Presently  everything  and  everyone  is  on  board, 
excepting  ourselves,  a mass  of  mules,  carts,  outriders, 
ponies,  and  attendants  huddling  together,  and  it  is 
time,  according  to  the  unwritten  rule,  to  go.  But 
before  starting  a ceremony  has  to  be  performed.  The 
headman  of  the  little  village  approaches  the  Prefect 
and  tells  him  that  all  is  ready;  his  servants  carefully 
help  on  his  official  clothes  and  his  official  hat,  and  he' 
walks  stiffly  down  to  the  water’s  edge.  A rough 
straw  mat  is  spread  on  the  ground;  a few  incense 
sticks  are  spluttering  in  a bowl;  and  as  the  Prefect 
takes  his  stand  in  front  of  them,  a sharp  roll  of  fire- 
crackers attracts  the  slumbering  attention  of  the  river- 
gods.  The  Prefect  seizes  the  burning  incense  sticks, 
falls  on  his  knees,  and  bows  deeply  three  times  with 
his  hands  above  his  head.  In  two  seconds  it  is  all 
over ; the  mat  and  the  official  clothes  have  been 
removed;  and  an  unofficial  pig  is  noisily  nosing  the 
ground  where  the  ceremony  took  place,  filled  with  a 
wild  hope  of  picking  up  a few  grains  of  sacrificial 
rice.  It  is  a simple  and  curious  ceremony  this  pro- 
pitiating of  the  spirits,  which  may  arise  and  devour 
you  if  you  are  not  careful ; and  it  was  interesting  watch- 
ing the  crowd  of  peasantry  surrounding  the  territorial 
official  as  he  performed  the  ordered  rites.  For 
it  was  to  protect  them,  the  agriculturists  living  along 
the  river-banks,  that  this  ceremony  must  be  per- 
formed, and  curious  to  see  what  the  answer  would 
be,  I asked  one  of  these  men  why  it  was  done. 

“Why?  because  it  has  always  been  done,  and 
the  officials  are  the  protectors  of  the  common  people; 


On  the  Upper  Yangtsze. 


{Face  page  138,  Vol.  /. 

Crossing  'ihe  Yellow  River. 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


159 


and  if  they  do  not  care  for  the  river  the  river  will 
not  care  for  us.’’  Is  there  any  use  in  disturbing  this 
belief,  since  one  belief  is  as  good  as  another? 

The  junk  now  swung  off  with  a stout  bamboo 
hawser  holding  her  nose  to  the  current,  whilst  the 
junkmen  were  busy  with  anchors  and  hauling  tackle. 
This  crossing  of  the  Yellow  River  is  curious  and  little 
known.  The  river,  so  sluggish-looking  from  the 
banks,  was  already  tugging  at  us  frantically,  and  as 
the  bamboo  hawser  was  paid  out,  the  village,  for  no 
apparent  reason,  suddenly  slipped  a hundred  yards 
ahead  of  us.  It  was  a hint  of  what  the  current 
could  be.  Even  so  close  in  shore  it  was  running  six 
knots;  far  out  in  the  middle  it  was  swirling  away  in 
treacherous  eddies  at  ten  miles  an  hour.  Suddenly 
the  crew  who  had-  been  poling  steadily  stopped 
stamping  along  the  poling-boards.  The  headman 
gave  a shout,  and  a heavy  anchor  was  thrown  over- 
board with  a great  splash.  Instantly  another 
brigade  of  men  started,  with  hoarse  yells,  hauling  in 
by  means  of  a complicated  tackle-system  rigged  to 
the  mainmast.  The  end  of  the  bamboo  hawser  now 
splashed  overboard,  and  two  hundred  yards  away 
we  saw  the  fast-disappearing  villagers  tugging,  tug- 
ging, tugging.  . . . We  were  now  solely  dependent 
on  our  own  resources;  how  could  this  anchor-hauling 
get  us  over  ? 

The  steersman  answered  the  question  by  putting 
the  junk  sharply  over  so  that  her  bows  now  headed 
the  stream  only  three-quarters  on,  pushing  us  away 
to  the  opposite  bank,  whilst  with  renewed  energy 


i6o 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


and  re-inforced  by  dozens  of  hands,  our  anchor, 
dragging  along  the  shallow  river  bottom  but  always 
gripping  sufficiently  to  give  the  boat  a purchase, 
slid  us  out  into  the  middle  of  the  stream.  It  was 
the  application  of  principles  which  I did  not  at  first 
understand.  Then'  when  the  anchor  was  hauled 
alongside,  brawny  arms  lifted  it  up  and  carried  it  to 
the  bows  half  in  the  water,  and  once  more  let  it 
splash.  Each  time  this  anchor-carrying  operation 
took  place  we  lost  tremendously,  and  I was  be- 
ginning to  think  we  would  be  carried  down-stream 
too  far  when  the  look-out,  who  was  perched  on  the 
bows  and  armed  with  a long  pole,  sang  out,  “Four 
feet  of  water  and  the  great  sand-bank.’’  Instantly 
the  anchor-hauling  ceased  and  the  crew,  abandoning 
their  scanty  trouserings,  to  my  immense  surprise 
jumped  overboard.  A curious  ferrying  experience 
this.  Presently  light  anchors  and  chains  had  been 
carried  far  ahead  of  us  by  the  men  in  the  water, 
and  the  steersman,  sweeping  round  a long  yuloh,  put 
our  head  up  a couple  of  points,  so  as  to  stem  the 
current  more  directly.  In  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  by  much  industrious  hauling  we  recovered 
nearly  half  the  distance  we  had  lost  in  a quarter  of 
an  hour  by  availing  ourselves  of  this  sheltering  sand- 
bank; and  then  with  a thousand  yards  still  between 
us  and  the  other  shore  the  men  came  aboard  and 
commenced  their  mast-hauling  operations.  But 
these  last  thousand  yards  cost  us  dearly,  we  were 
carried  four  miles  down-stream. 

At  last  we  bumped  and  looked  at  our  watches; 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


i6i 


three  hours  and  a half,  everybody  said  it  was 
admirable  time.  But  all  was  not  yet  over,  for 
we  had  to  be  slowly  tracked  with  a stamp,  stamp, 
stamp  of  hundreds  of  feet  to  the  river  station. 
Across  the  river  a tiny  roughness  on  the  bank 
showed  us  the  village  we  had  left  in  the  early 
morning.  In  this  manner  is  the  Yellow  River 
crossed  — a river  generally  a mile  and  a half  wide, 
but  sometimes  even  ten  or  twenty  in  flood  times, 
when  all  traffic  ceases.  With  many  barriers  of  this 
kind  everywhere  in  China,  either  great  rivers  or 
savage  mountains,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  country 
has  been  held  back  and  that  the  people  are  divided 
in  the  curious  fashion  which  the  native  methods  of 
travel  bring  to  light. 

We  reached  the  river-station  and  perspiringly 
sought  shelter  in  one  of  the  rough  reed  tea-houses. 
The  heat  was  intense  and  the  shafts  of  the  sun 
more  than  could  be  borne  in  the  open.  Under  the 
reeds  the  thermometer  marked  no  degrees. 

Beneath  the  decks  of  our  junk,  it  now  transpired, 
were  dozens  of  unfortunate  cows  and  calves.  These 
being  cheap  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  are  dear 
on  the  northern  bank ; and  therefore  certain 
drovers,  entering  into  private  arrangements  with 
my  mandarin’s  servants,  had  brought  them  over  for 
nothing.  Now  it  was  found  that  several  calves 
were  dead  from  the  heat  and  a terrible  dispute  was 
raging  as  to  who  should  pay.  My  official  friend 
rose  to  the  occasion,  and  with  a Solomon-like  jus- 
tice decreed  that  his  men  should  pay  half  to  punish 


VOL.  I — M 


i62 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


them  for  their  deceit,  and  the  drovers  the  other  half 
for  enticing  public  servants  to  do  what  they  should 
not  do;  and  it  was  with  this  last  scene  before  me 
that  I made  my  adieux  and  hastened  forward  to  the 
railway.  My  Prefect  was  going  by  water  and  by  cart 
straight  on  to  Peking  in  the  old  fashion.  For  me  the 
pleasures  of  the  road  were  becoming  irksome. 

With  the  river  left  behind  us  and  its  reed-grown 
embankments  fading  away,  the  cracked  soil  and  the 
thin  kao-liang  crops  proclaimed  that  a different  belt 
of  country  had  been  entered.  Across  the  Yellow 
River  the  real  North  China  begins,  with  its  bronzed 
people  tanned  by  the  dry  heat  and  the  crackling 
winds,  and  its  dusty  fields  oppressed  by  climatic 
changes  which  are  too  sudden.  South  of  the  Yellow 
River  is  one  of  the  richest  belts  in  China,  but  once 
in  Chihli  there  is  no  such  agricultural  prosperity. 

Four  miles  farther  on  we  came  on  the  old 
Imperial  highway,  an  Imperial  highway  in  all  truth 
since  it  was  renovated  only  four  years  ago  when  the 
fugitive  Peking  Court  returned  to  its  home  by  this 
route  and  provincial  officials  were  forced  then  to 
spend  a little  money  to  keep  up  appearances.  Need 
I say  that  the  road  is  now  worse  than  ever  ? 
Spreading  out  in  the  distance,  the  great  snake-like 
cart-ruts  could  be  seen  curling  away  mile  after  mile, 
cutting  up  a roadway  which  was  sixty  or  seventy 
feet  wide.  At  regular  intervals  along  this  highway 
were  small  white  guard-houses  with  newly  en- 
grossed black  characters  already  looking  faded. 
They  had  served  their  purpose  if  they  had  been 


The  First  Sign  of  the  Real  North  — a Camel  Caravan. 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


163 


seen  by  the  Empress  Dowager  three  years  ago ; 
to-day  what  did  it  matter!  Going  into  one  of  these 
guard-houses,  which  doubtless,  according  to  the  old 
regulations  of  the  Empire,  should  each  have  its 
quota  of  soldiers  guarding  people  who  use  the  road, 
I found  that  the  structures  were  not  even  of  brick. 
By  an  ingenious  arrangement  wood  and  plaster  had 
been  made  to  do  service  for  the  structures  which  one 
day  must  have  existed,  and  which  had  probably  been 
torn  down  for  the  sake  of  their  materials;  and  the 
official  builders  had  perpetrated  this  deceit  safe  in 
the  knowledge  that  no  one  belonging  to  the 
Imperial  cortege  would  ever  look  inside.  What 
contradictions  there  are  to-day ! Reuter’s  telegrams, 
Mauser  rifles,  arsenals,  railways,  and  many  other 
things  being  spread  in  a thin  layer  over#  the 
top  of  a rotting  mass  of  make-believes. 

Presently  the  air  cooled  a little,  the  dry  northern 
breeze  faintly  fanned  one’s  cheeks  and  sucked  the 
moisture  from  one’s  pores;  for  it  is  always  thus  in 
the  true  North  separated  from  the  half-North  by  a 
mere  river.  The  sun  sank  and  night  came  on,  and 
we  had  put  twenty-five  miles  between  ourselves  and 
our  morning’s  experiences.  It  was  time  to  ask 

about  the  railway,  for  the  working  parties  pushing 
down  from  the  Peking  way  had  been  already 

reported  in  this  district.  The  railway,  however, 
had  not  been  heard  of  in  the  little  village  we  halted 
at  for  the  night,  although  at  Kaifengfu  they  had 
lyingly  informed  us  it  was  already  there.  Poor 

indeed  is  a Chinaman’s  idea  of  time  and  distance. 


164 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


We  must  go  another  forty  miles,  due  north  until  we 
came  to  the  town  of  Wei-whei.  So  on  we  went  all 
the  next  day,  through  dry-as-dust  villages  with  an 
ever  cooling  air  blowing  down  on  us,  and  the  great 
heat  left  far  behind.  By  sun-down  of  the  next  day 
we  had  covered  those  forty  miles,  and  tired  and  dust- 
laden reached  the  prefectural  city  of  Wei-whei.  Across 
the  cart-road  rose  a railway  embankment.  We 
rushed  forward  and  looked,  and  then  even  the 
carters  blasphemed.  The  embankment  was  no 
mirage,  for  there  were  rails  and  a splendid  rock-bed, 
but  this  was  no  Belgian  work.  And  in  any  case  the 
Peking  iron- way  runs  north  by  south;  this  was  west 
by  east  and  the  explanation  was  clear.  We  had  blun- 
dered on  to  the  Peking  Syndicate’s  coal  railway,  a 
British  company  destined  some  day  to  run  coal  all 
over  China,  but  now  possessing  but  a hundred  miles 
of  road. 

We  clattered  through  the  town  of  Wei-whei-fu, 
which  is  the  first  of  half  a dozen  rich  prefectural 
cities,  which  stand  along  the  line  of  the  Peking  rail- 
way, and  we  stopped  to  inquire.  The  railway  ? 
Everyone  was  talking  about  the  railway ; it  was 
somewhere  outside  the  North  Gate  of  the  city, 
perhaps  ten  li  beyond.  So  on  we  went.  Half-an- 
hour  passed,  an  hour,  an  hour  and  a half,  and  still  no 
signs  of  anything.  Then  two  lumbering  carts 

passed  laden  with  foreigners’  camp  effects.  We 
held  them  up  irately  because  they  were  alone. 
Where  was  the  railway  ? Half  a mile  farther  we 
would  see  the  rails. 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


165 


We  drove  down  another  road,  narrow  and  torn 
by  cart  traffic,  up  another,  and  suddenly  there  were 
rails.  But  it  was  railhead  absolute,  for  naked 
embankment  rolled  away  to  the  south  whilst  loose 
rails  dumped  by  a construction  train  lay  in  confused 
masses  before  us.  We  chirruped  the  shying  mules 
along,  parallel  to  the  embankment,  and  another  half 
a mile  brought  us  to  another  local  land-mark  — two 
hundred  coolies  and  masons  at  work  raising  the 
ground  and  squaring  blocks  of  stone  for  a future 
station.  But  there  was  no  white  man,  and  the 
coolies  seemed  curiously  dispirited. 

Suddenly  we  saw  a European.  It  was  not 
exactly  an  encouraging  sight  from  the  railway 
traveller’s  point  of  view,  but  still  it  was  some- 
thing. An  Italian  shift-boss  in  green  riding  trousers, 
puttees  after  the  English  fashion,  a pink  shirt  and  a 
huge  sun  helmet,  was  sitting  disconsolately  on  top  of 
a cask  of  nails  flicking  at  the  flies.  It  was  a manifest 
sign  of  railway  building  and  must  be  accepted  as 
such.  I approached,  and  in  the  best  Tuscan  inquired 
after  his  welfare.  The  news  was  bad.  The  railway 
had  been  ripped  up  by  the  heavy  rains  and  every- 
thing was  done  for  dozens,  perhaps  even  hundreds, 
of  kilometres.  He,  the  solitary  Italian,  had  been 
cut  off  from  everybody  for  two  weeks,  and  now  there 
was  no  macaroni,  no  absinthe,  no  anything  left,  and 
no  one  knew  if  the  railway  would  ever  run  again. 
The  Latin  race  is  singularly  gloomy  when  it 
becomes  pessimistic. 

The  carters,  scenting  disaster  in  the  air,  had 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


1 66 

approached  and  were  now  mingling  the  sound  of 
their  harmonious  voices  with  those  of  their  betters. 
The  head  carter,  for  reasons  unexplained,  had 
developed  a huge  boil  on  his  off  leg  two  days 
before,  and  the  sounds  of  his  complaints  had  made 
the  air  unpleasant  in  his  proximity  ever  since.  Only 
bribery  had  forced  him  to  continue ; his  own 
dictates  urged  him  to  return  home  so  that  he 
might  die  in  peace  after  the  Chinese  fashion  near 
his  ancestors.  The  Chinese,  like  the  Latins,  are 
unnecessarily  pessimistic  at  times  — but  Chinese 
pessimism  is  of  a kind  that  is  a good  investment. 

Now  learning  that  he  must  go  steadily  on  for 
more  hundreds  of  li,  the  carter  raised  his  mournful 
voice  in  protest ; and  even  sarcasm,  a weapon  which 
properly  used  can  effect  wonders,  proved  unavailing. 
At  last,  equally  mournfully,  I turned  and  handed 
him  a dollar,  once  again  defeated,  and  the  sufferer, 
both  ringing  and  biting  the  coin  to  satisfy  himself  as 
to  my  apparent  generosity,  signified  his  willingness 
to  go  just  one  day  more  and  then  not  an  inch 
farther  even  for  the  heaviest  bribes. 

The  solitary,  Italian  in  the  pink  shirt  offered  me 
hospitality,  and  in  the  end  sang  the  night  away 
because  of  unaccustomed  whisky.  And  the  next 
day  we  did  another  fifty  miles,  always  following  close 
to  the  embankment  in  the  hope  that  unkind  provi- 
dence would  suddenly  relent  and  send  a locomotive 
snorting  down  to  see  the  state  of  the  road.  Nothing 
was  seen  but  derelict  rails  and  broken  temporary 
bridges,  and  from  section  to  section  I was  passed  on 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


167 


by  men  sitting  on  the  top  of  building  materials  who 
implored  me  to  urge  the  immediate  despatch  of  pro- 
visions and,  above  all,  of  absinthe. 

At  last,  at  Changte-fu,  a big  city,  a section  was 
reached  which  was  cut  off,  it  is  true,  but  possessed 
two  locomotives  which  could  go  forty  or  fifty  kilo- 
metres up  to  the  next  big  broken  bridge.  And  here 
I learned  that  every  morning  at  five  a passage 
could  be  snatched  if  the  engine-driver  was  good- 
humoured.  As  I dismissed  my  carters  the  boil- 
stricken  one  made  such  a mournful  countenance  that 
I thrust  on  him  two  extra  dollars.  And  then,  as  he 
was  leaving,  with  joyful  air  he  informed  me  that  his 
boil  had  burst  an  hour  before. 

On  the  morrow  arriving  before  daylight  at  the 
station  we  found  a closed  van  hitched  to  the  engine, 
and  learnt  that  a fresh  experience  was  to  be  had  — a 
cholera-stricken  European  would  go  north  with  us. 
The  Italian  conductor  who  whimpered  me  this 
information  told  me  he  had  not  come  so  far  from 
home  to  die  of  cholera,  and  that  he  would  allow  the 
train  to  go  off  without  him,  if  the  patient  turned  up 
in  time  enough  to  take  his  place.  He,  the  Italian, 
would  die  for  no  one  — never,  never.  It  was  not 
until  after  several  hours’  wait  that  a big  official 
chair  with  bearers  in  official  hats  and  incomplete 
trouserings  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  the  Italian, 
fortifying  himself  with  brandy,  groaned  aloud.  It 
was  evidently  the  patient.  The  chair  was  deposited, 
but  to  everyone’s  astonishment  out  stepped  a dapper 
little  Frenchman  in  a pearl-grey  pongee  suit,  pearl- 


i68 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


grey  gloves  and  a silver-knobbed  stick,  who  politely 
raising  his  sun-helmet  hoped  that  he  had  not  unduly 
hurt  the  locomotive’s  feelings  by  the  delay.  We 
stared  in  surprise,  and  the  Italian  nervously  asked  if 
he  were  the  cholera  fiend.  ‘'The  past  tense,  if  you 
please,”  said  the  polite  Frenchman.  “I  had  cholera, 
but  you  will  see  I am  now  cured;  I go  to  make  my 
convalescence.” 

The  covered  van  was  boarded  by  us  all ; the 
official  chair  taken  to  pieces  and  stowed  inside;  the 
ragged  official  chair-coolies  climbed  on  to  an  open 
truck  which  was  sought  out  and  coupled  on;  and  at 
last  we  were  off.  As  we  progressed  towards  Peking 
over  an  uneven  and  dangerous  track,  there  were 
plenty  of  topics  for  conversation,  for  at  regular 
intervals  the  train  would  be  held  up  by  a figure  in  a 
dirty  white  slop  suit  yelling  lustily  from  the  embank- 
ment, who,  as  he  climbed  on  board,  merely  muttered 
the  number  of  his  kilometre  by  way  of  introduction. 
In  the  end  there  were  a dozen  of  us,  Italians, 
Belgians,  Frenchmen,  and  Germans,  all  the  Conti- 
nent of  Europe  helping  in  the  building  of  the  non- 
British  grand-trunk  line. 

Meanwhile  the  cholera  convalescent  in  the  pearl- 
grey  gloves,  seated  in  an  easy  chair,  questioned  each 
new-comer  with  a wave  of  his  elegant  silver-knobbed 
stick.  At  last  it  was  clear.  We  could  go  on  as  far 
as  a certain  Sha-ho  — how  many  sha-ho  or  “sandy 
rivers”  are  there  in  China,  I wonder!  — and  then  we 
would  have  to  'get  out  and  go  for  an  indefinite 
number  of  miles  on  foot,  or  as  best  we  could,  for 


VI 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


169 


there  was  a huge  bridge  down  and  the  whole  track 
ripped  up  by  the  rain  and  the  floods.  Loud  were 
the  denunciations  which  were  levelled  against  the 
contractors,  the  directorate  and  everyone  connected 
with  the  overseeing  of  this  railway  construction,  by 
all  these  men.  The  summer  freshets  rushing  down 
from  the  West  had  swollen  every  river  and  stream 
into  a raging  torrent,  and  cut  away  everything  as 
clean  as  a giant  knife  could  have  done.  Loud, 
also,  were  the  denunciations  against  the  compagnies 
d'kude,  or  surveying  parties,  which  instead  of  doing 
their  work  properly  and  studying  the  rainy-season 
question  had  frittered  their  time  away.  But  it  was 
the  bridge  work  and  the  masonry  which  aroused  the 
greatest  ire.  Masonry  had  been  built  with  a fifty 
centimetre  foundation  on  sandy  river  bottoms  — that 
had  been  found  everywhere.  There  were  no  sluices 
in  embankments  where  anyone  might  have  seen 
flood  waters  would  rush ; the  temporary  bridge- 
building had  all  been  done  with  rotten  timbers  to 
save  money  and  to  make  money  — these  were  some 
of  the  comments  made  by  this  motley  assembly  of 
railway- men. 

Thus  passing  the  time  away  as  we  crashed  heavily 
and  dangerously  forward,  it  was  not  until  a great 
shout  was  raised  from  the  open  truck  behind  us  that 
we  forgot  all  about  railway  corruption  and  peered 
out.  The  chair  coolies  on  the  next  truck  were 
lying  on  their  stomachs  and  hanging  over  the  edge 
of  their  conveyance  looking  at  the  track  behind  us. 
Somebody  laughed,  and  then  with  the  aid  of  field- 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP. 


170 


glasses  we  understood.  Chair  coolie  number  14  had 
only  fallen  off  the  train  and  was  now  sitting  at  the 
bottom  of  the  railway  embankment  half-a-mile  away 
ruefully  rubbing  his  head.  His  confreres  continued 
gazing  at  him  with  the  open-mouthed  Chinese  astonish- 
ment, which  is  more  curiosity  than  anything  else,  for 
two  or  three  minutes  more,  and  then  turning  over  on 
their  backs  they  forgot  the  entire  affair.  Men  are 
sometimes  killed  when  they  fall  off  trains  — this  one 
had  only  hurt  his  head;  he  was  very  lucky.  No 
one  thought  of  stopping  the  train;  he  would  have 
to  catch  us  up  later  on,  on  foot. 

By  noon  the  engine  was  rocking  so  savagely  that 
the  driver  pulled  her  up.  Shading  his  eyes  from 
the  sun  he  pointed  ahead.  The  track  was  in  all 
truth  a railway  in  the  air;  it  had  been  caught  by  the 
freshets  and  been  twisted,  sleepers  and  all,  twenty 
feet  high  off  the  embankment.  It  was  obviously 
time  to  dismount. 

The  official  chair  was  put  together  again,  the 
chair  coolies  lifted  up  the  cholera  convalescent,  and 
we  moved  forward,  with  our  impedimenta  streaming 
out  raggedly  behind  us  for  hundreds  of  yards  after 
the  entertaining  Chinese  fashion.  Presently  after  a 
refreshing  walk  in  the  midday  sun  we  reached  the 
remains  of  a bridge  with  a repentant  river  of  sand 
that  had  caused  all  the  trouble  flowing  thickly  be- 
neath it.  Hundreds  of  coolies  were  here  splashing 
in  the  water,  cooling  off  after  six  hours’  hard  work 
on  the  bridge.  We  climbed  gingerly  across  dan- 
gerous spans  and  warped  girders,  and  our  baggage 


VI  ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER  171 

dutifully  following  performed  miracles  in  acrobat 
feats.  One  more  coolie  fell,  this  time  from  the 
bridge  into  the  water,  and  all  were  pleased  beyond 
words.  He  had  been  sitting  on  the  top  of  a box 
which  he  should  have  been  carrying,  and  which  he 
had  placed  on  a rail  with  not  a single  other  .thing 
between  him  and  the  water.  Then  lighting  a 
cigarette  and  feeling  as  comfortable  as  only  a 
Chinaman  can  do  in  such  circumstances  he  had 
involved  himself  in  a heated  argument  as  to  whether 
this  was  half-way  or  not.  The  only  thing  which 
appeared  to  make  him  angry  at  falling  thirty  feet 
into  the  water  was  that  he  lost  his  cigarette;  and  as 
he  ferried  the  box  ashore  only  sharp  words  could 
induce  him  to  stay  his  search  for  that  cigarette-end. 
Far  down-stream  an  official  hat  could  be  seen  float- 
ing ; and  the  cholera  patient,  to  whom  all  this 
luxury  belonged,  gloomily  stated  that  it  was  the 
fourth  which  had  been  lost  in  twenty-four  hours. 
He  did  not  expect  to  reach  Peking  with  anything 
but  his  own  gloves  and  stick. 

Thus  gaily  shedding  coolies  and  official  hats,  we 
were  finally  rescued  by  trolleys  and  pushed  on  to  a 
small  railway  settlement  where  there  were  a dozen 
white  men  working  out  cubes  and  playing  with 
drawing  instruments.  For  two  days  we  moved  on 
slowly  thus  by  trolley,  with  our  baggage  rejoining 
us  late  at  night  in  a manner  which  was  never 
explained,  and  which  it  would  not  be  meet  to  inquire 
into.  Finally,  six  days  from  the  Yellow  River,  we  at 
last  reached  sections  which  had  been  undamaged  by 


172 


ACROSS  THE  YELLOW  RIVER 


CHAP.  VI 


the  rains,  and  in  one  spell  of  eleven  hours  we  ran  by 
fast  train  past  the  big  cities  of  Chentingfu  and 
Paotingfu  with  great  crowds  of  native  passengers 
boarding  us,  until,  sixteen  days  from  Hankow,  the 
mighty  walls  of  Peking  loomed  up,  and  curling 
through  a breach  in  the  city  wall  we  rushed  up  to 
the  new  station,  which  is  but  a stone’s  throw  from 
the  main  entrance  to  the  palace. 


CHAPTER  VII 


TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS 

When  the  Treaty  of  Shimonoseki,  signed  on  the 
17th  April,  1895,  had  terminated  the  disastrous 
Japanese  war,  the  Peking  Court  party  and  high 
Chinese  officials  all  the  Empire  over,  were  some- 
what anxious  to  reform  things.  It  is  true  so-called 
military  reforms  had  already  been  tried  — witness 
the  foreign-drilled  troops  of  Pechili  and  Southern 
Manchuria,  Chang  Chih-tung’s  small  modern  army, 
and  the  building  of  ‘impregnable”  Port  Arthur; 
but  all  these  measures  and  many  others  had  proved 
broken  reeds  and  something  further  had  to  be  done. 
The  real  world  of  China  was  not  very  much  dis- 
turbed over  Korean  and  Manchurian  disasters;  but 
high  officialdom  was  being  impeached  right  and  left, 
and  the  omnipotent  Empress  Dowager  and  her 
proud  Manchus  were  very  wrath  at  the  course  events 
had  taken.  So  opinions  were  called  for  from  those 
qualified  to  speak,  and  soon  memoranda  began 
to  appear.  Chang  Chih-tung  wrote  his  secret 
memorial,  followed  up  by  more  open  documents  in 
which  China  was  exhorted  to  learn.  Sir  Robert 


173 


174  TRUNK  R.\ILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  ch.\p. 


Hart  followed  with  a vast  memorandum  entitled  the 
P'an  Lim;  Li  Hung  Chang  in  disgrace,  and  some- 
what comically  stripped  of  his  little  Yellow  Riding 
Jacket,  advocated  doing  everything  possible;  others 
added  to  this  reform-din;  and  therefore  the  Court 
party  decided  that  the  time  had  manifestly  arrived 
when  something  would  have  to  be  done. 

But  what?  It  was  certainly  a difficult  question, 
for  there  were  so  many  things  which  appeared 
equally  necessary,  that  no  one  knew  which  should 
be  given  first  place.  But  after  a time  the  Peking 
Government  took  its  inevitable  course  along  the  line 
of  least  resistance  — that  is  along  a line  which  would 
not  upset  anybody’s  ancient  rights  and  squeezes.  It 
decided  that  railways  were  good  and  necessary 
things,  and  that  perhaps  they  would  effect  the 

miracles  which  were  so  needed  to  rehabilitate  China 
in  her  own  esteem  and  in  the  esteem  of  all  the 

world.  China  had  also  been  helped  in  this  decision, 
quite  incidentally  of  course,  by  the  chief  partner  of 
the  triplicate  of  Powers  which  had  forced  Japan  to 
retrocede  its  war-prize  — the  Liaotung.  Russia  all 

through  1895  had  been  preparing  and  exchanging 
memoranda  through  the  agency  of  the  astute  and 
indefatigable  Count  Cassini;  and  in  1896  this 
coquetting  had  culminated  in  the  famous  Cassini 
Convention,  denounced  by  everybody  as  untrue 

because  its  publication  had  not  been  foreseen.  The 
Cassini  Convention  offered  at  least  a strong  advocacy 
of  railways  — vide  both  the  majestic  preamble  (in 
wffiich  the  Imperial  High  Commissioners,  the 


VII  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  175 


Manchu  princes,  and  the  great  officers  of  the 
Crown  are  stated  to  have  conferred  and  agreed  with 
Count  Cassini  over  railway  matters),  and  also  the 
first  five  articles  of  the  same  instrument,  which  are 
monopolised  by  the  railway  question.  Therefore,  as 
the  principle  of  the  expediency  of  railways  had  been 
admitted,  let  railways  be  built.  Already  Tientsien 
was  being  linked  with  Peking ; another  extension 
was  being  built  on  to  Paotingfu,  and  a second  to 
Shanhaikwan,  whilst  Manchuria  was  fully  provided 
for.  It  was  now  merely  a question  as  to  who  should 
build  other  iron-ways. 

The  matter  proceeded  in  the  characteristic 
Chinese  way.  As  early  as  February,  1896,  a 

Chinese  company  had  been  actually  formed  to 
construct  the  vast  trunk-line  and  the  necessary 
branches  between  Canton  and  Peking,  a system 
which  would  necessitate  two  thousand  miles  of  track 
being  built.  But  the  capital  fixed  upon  as  necessary, 
thirty  million  taels,  or  say  four  million  sterling,  was 
absurdly  inadequate,  and,  moreover,  as  native  capi- 
talists showed  but  little  inclination  to  invest  their 
money  in  this  purely  Chinese  scheme,  the  project 
soon  fell  through.  Chang  Chih-tung,  of  the 
Wuchang-Hankow  satrapy,  and  Sheng  Hsuan-huai 
(better  known  to  the  Western  world  as  Sheng 
Taotai),  who  were  most  interested  in  the  matter, 
jointly  memorialised  the  Throne  on  the  subject  and 
pointed  out  the  difficulties;  and  in  reply  they  were 
ordered,  also  after  the  manner  of  Chinese  official- 
dom, ‘To  investigate”  the  subject  once  more.  It  is 


176  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  chap. 


here  necessary  to  explain  that  both  of  these  officials, 
the  one  of  the  highest  provincial  rank,  i.e.  a Viceroy, 
and  the  other  a mere  detached  Taotai,  who  was 
Li  Hung  Chang’s  right-hand  man  in  business  affairs, 
were  pecuniarily  interested  in  the  success  of  the 
affair  because  they  had  already  opened  up  iron  and 
coal  mines,  and  established  foundries  on  the  middle 
Yangtsze,  which  they  thought  would  make  for  them 
vast  fortunes  if  railway- building  was  all  that  the 
Westerners  said.  Sheng  Taotai,  although  of  no 
very  exalted  rank,  represented  the  business-side  of 
that  versatile  man,  Li  Hung  Chang,  whose  protege 
he  was,  and  ‘‘managed”  for  the  veteran  statesman 
such  ill-assorted  undertakings  as  the  Imperial 
Chinese  Telegraphs,  the  China  Merchants’  Steam- 
ship Company,  Shanghai  Cotton  and  Silk  Mills, 
and  other  official  and  semi-official  ventures,  all  of 
which  have  been  financed  with  official  moneys.  Li 
Hung  Chang  was  therefore  also  concerned.  Viceroy 
Chang  Chih-tung  and  Sheng  Taotai  now  laid  their 
heads  together  and  began  to  think.  Offers  were 
already  coming  in  from  foreign  capitalists,  and  these 
were  therefore  investigated.  In  December  of  1897 
these  two  officials  sent  in  a final  memorial  stating 
that  as  the  National  Treasury  was  empty,  and  as 
Chinese  merchants  and  gentry  could  not  be  induced 
to  find  all  the  money,  it  was  necessary  to  go  after 
all  to  the  foreigner.  Continuing,  they  confessed 
ingenuously  that  their  original  intention  was  to 
recommend  the  application  of  a certain  American 
group,  but  as  the  American  terms  had  been  too 


A Bridge  on  tHl  Pekin  Railway. 


VII  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS'  177 


severe  Belgium  had  been  approached.  (Later  on 
the  true  position  of  Belgium  in  the  matter  will  be 
discussed.)  The  memorialists  went  on  to  point  out 
that  Belgium  was  a country  of  insignificant  size ; 
that  it  had  no  entangling  alliances;  that  its  dense 
population  was  the  surprise  of  Europe;  and  ended 
by  impressively  recommending  the  Belgian  tender 
as  the  very  best  which  could  possibly  be  found. 
The  Peking  mandarinate,  who  knew  what  was 
behind  all  this,  were  delighted  with  such  wisdom. 
Here  indeed  was  the  right  country ; quickly  sign 
the  preliminary  contract ! 

In  December,  therefore,  this  contract  was  signed; 
in  June  1898,  the  final  contract  was  entered  into 
and  became  generally  known;  and  in  August  of  the 
same  year  it  was  ratified  by  the  Tsung-li  Yamen. 
It  is  true  that  the  concession  included  only  the  half- 
trunk — that  is  to  say  the  Hankow-Peking  line  — and 
did  not  openly  deal  with  the  hardly  less  important 
Canton-Hankow  section.  But  of  this  more  must  be 
said  later. 

In  1898,  therefore,  the  Hankow-Peking  Belgian 
railway  concession  was  an  indisputable  fact,  for 
better  or  for  worse,  and  its  building  promptly  began. 
The  English  engineers,  who  in  the  employ  of  the 
Imperial  Chinese  Railways  (the  Peking-Tientsien- 
Shanhaikwan  line)  had  half-completed  the  extension 
on  to  Paotingfu,  handed  over  their  work  to  the 
Belgian  syndicate ; and  in  spite  of  the  protests 
addressed  by  various  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  to 
the  now  defunct  Tsung-li  Yamen,  this  portion  of 

VOL.  I — N 


178  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAI.  WEAPONS 


CHAP. 


the  grand  trunk  was  entirely  surrendered  to  Belgian 
intriguers. 

At  the  beginning  of  1899  the  publication  of  the 
Hankow-Peking  Railway  Company’s  prospectus  in 
Brussels  by  the  Societe  Beige  pour  Vkude  des  chemins 
de  jer  en  Chine  — the  full  name  of  the  concessionnaire 
company — did  much  to  dispel  any  illusions  which 
may  still  have  existed  on  the  subject;  for  the 
project  now  stood  unmasked,  and  it  was  clear  that 
instead  of  being  a purely  Belgian  commercial 
venture,  the  railway  company  was  more  than  half 
French,  and  that  Paris  was  both  directorially  and 
financially  far  more  powerful  in  the  matter  than 
Brussels.  And  in  those  days  Paris  stood  directly 
for  Russia. 

It  is  here  illuminating  to  halt  a minute  and  refresh 
the  memories  of  those  who  may  have  temporarily 
forgotten  the  exact  course  of  events  following  after 
the  timely  publication  of  the  Cassini  Convention  in 
the  autumn  of  1896.  No  sooner  had  the  publica- 
tion of  this  much-discussed  Convention  taken  place 
than  it  was  denounced  by  both  parties,  Russia  and 
China,  and  it  was  promptly  followed  by  a separate 
and  apparently  perfectly  open  agreement  between 
the  Chinese  Government  and  the  Russo-Chinese 
Bank,  whereby  the  latter,  inter  alia,  undertook  to 
form  a company,  to  be  called  the  Chinese  Eastern 
Railway  Company,  which  would  construct  a railway 
from  the  Trans-Baikal  province  across  Manchuria 
to  a point  on  the  Ussuri  railway  — thus  connecting 
the  Baikal  regions  and  the  Siberian  railway  with 


vn  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  179 


Vladivostock  and  the  Russian  Pacific  sea-board. 
This  Russo-Chinese  agreement  made  no  mention  of 
a railway  running  down  to  Southern  Manchuria  and 
the  coasts  of  Liaotung  such  as  had  been  tentatively 
provided  for  by  the  Cassini  Convention.  It  was 
not  until  Port  Arthur  was  occupied  in  the  winter  of 
1897-1898,  and  the  Port  Arthur  Leasing  Agree- 
ment drawn  up,  that  the  question  of  a railway  down 
the  Gulf  of  Liaotung  and  the  ice-free  seas  was 
formally  settled. 

The  so-called  Belgian  concessionnaires  adopted 
an  almost  identical  policy.  For  many  weary 
months  they  attempted  to  secure  the  whole  of  the 
Canton  to  Peking  grand  trunk,  and  the  necessary 
branches  which  would  give  them  a control  of  a 
mileage  exceeding  two  thousand  miles;  but  as  soon 
as  they  saw  that  even  with  the  best  will  in  the  world 
the  granting  of  this  magnificent  concession  would  be 
the  signal  for  such  a mighty  outcry  that  the  whole 
scheme  would  be  wrecked  and  they  themselves 
irrevocably  discredited,  they  contented  them- 
selves with  the  politically  more  important  half,  the 
Hankow-Peking  line,  extracting  a definite  promise 
that  in  the  event  of  the  southern  half  being  once 
more  in  the  market  they  would  have  the  first 
refusal. 

It  is  unnecessary  here  to  quote  the  entire  text  of 
the  railway  agreement,  which  is  reproduced  in  full  in 
the  appendix.  It  will  suffice  to  say  that  the  capital 
of  the  Belgian  Company  was  fixed  at  112,500,000 
francs,  or  ;^4, 500,000  sterling,  which  was  to  be  in 


iSo  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WTAPONS  ch.\p. 


the  nature  of  a loan  to  the  Imperial  Chinese  Govern- 
ment bearing  5 per  cent,  interest ; that  the  total 
length  of  the  line  is  1,200  kilometres  or  nearly  800 
miles;  and  that  interest  was  to  be  paid  from  capital 
account  until  railway  receipts  allowed  it  to  be  taken 
from  working  account  profits.  These  are  the  main 
details  brought  to  light  by  the  publication  of  the 
final  contract,  but  as  the  contract  was  somewhat 
modified  on  ratification,  and  as  supplemental}^ 
contracts  have  been  since  entered  into,  it  is  as  well 
to  trace  the  whole  course  of  events. 

Nominally  the  first  position  of  the  Belgian 
Syndicate  was  that  of  an  obliging  banker  willing  to 
advance  money  on  a first-class  security.  For  it 
should  be  stated  that  in  the  first  instance  the  efforts 
of  Chang  Chih-tung  and  Sheng  Hsuan-huai  had 
resulted  in  1896  in  the  formation  of  a Chinese 
Company,  called  the  General  Company  {Compagnie 
Generate)  in  all  the  contracts,  which  had  succeeded 
in  raising  Chinese  capital  to  the  amount  of  13,000,000 
taels,  or  a million  and  a half  sterling,  for  the  prose- 
cution of  this  trunk-line  building.  The  original 
idea  was  that  this  Chinese  Company,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Peking  Treasury,  should  build  the 
Central  Chinese  Railways  without  foreign  help. 
But  events  soon  showing  that  the  sum  collected  was 
entirely  inadequate,  and  that  the  Chinese  Government 
had  no  spare  cash,  foreign  help  had  to  be  solicited. 
Now  comes  a curious  story. 

Two  ‘‘groups”  were  tendering  for  this  Canton  to 
Peking  Railway  — an  American  Syndicate  and  a 


VII  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  i8i 


Belgian  Syndicate.  The  American  Syndicate  had 
been  formed  in  1895  by  an  influential  group  of 
Americans,  among  whom  Senators  Washburn,  Cary, 
and  Brice  were  the  most  prominent.  The  most 
distinguished  members  of  this  American  group  came 
to  China  and  attempted  to  secure  the  whole  Canton 
to  Peking  line;  but  Chinese^  ofiicialdom  found  them 
far  less  complaisant  than  had  been  expected  and 
soon  refused  to  treat  with  them.  The  Belgian  party 
had  already  shown  that  they  were  willing  to  stoop 
to  anything  and  accept  any  terms  so  long  as  they 
obtained  the  concession ; but  as  has  already  been 
written,  it  being  feared  that  there  would  be  great 
trouble  if  the  whole  line  went  to  them,  the  concession 
was  split  into  two  sections  and  the  southern  half,  the 
Canton-Hankow  Railway,  was  Anally  offered  to  the 
American  Syndicate  on  exactly  the  same  terms  as 
the  Belgians  had  already  accepted  in  private.  As 
the  Washburn  group  could  have  with  difficulty 
retired  entirely  from  China  after  their  strenuous 
initial  efforts,  on  the  14th  April,  1898,  they  quietly 
signed  at  Washington  with  the  Chinese  Minister, 
Wu  Ting-fang,  a preliminary  contract  in  which  they 
undertook  to  lend  000,000  sterling  and  construct 
the  Canton-Hankow  Railway  on  the  same  terms  as 
the  Belgians  had  accepted  in  the  case  of  the 
Hankow-Peking  Railway.  In  other  words,  the 
American  group  undertook  to  build  with  their  own 
money  for  the  Chinese  General  Company  the  half- 
trunk. This  was  the  first  stage. 

The  publication  of  these  various  agreements 


i82  trunk  railways  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  chap. 


aroused  a great  deal  of  attention.  Indeed  the  storm 
against  the  Belgian  invasion  of  the  British  sphere 
became  so  violent  that  the  Tsung-li-Yamen  was 
forced  to  visit  its  displeasure  on  Li  Hung  Chang, 
the  prime  mover  in  the  whole  matter;  to  grant  to 
England,  on  certain  conditions,  the  building  of  the 
Tientsien-Chinkiang  Railway,  and  to  accede  to  the 
demands  of  the  Anglo-Italian  Peking  Syndicate.  But 
although  English  opinion  had  been  so  much  excited, 
the  Russo-Franco-Belgian  combination,  which  was 
behind  the  nominal  Belgian  Syndicate,  was  in  the 
year  1898  so  strong  that  not  only  was  the  original 
Belgian  concession  upheld,  but  both  at  Peking  and 
Shanghai  the  Ministers  and  Consuls- General  of 
these  three  Powers  protested  violently  that  the 
granting  of  the  American  Concession  was  a breach 
of  good  faith  against  the  Belgian  group,  who  had 
already  offered  to  lend  all  the  money  necessary  in  a 
manner  which  would  better  suit  Chinese  pockets ! 
Fortunately,  however,  in  Chang  Chih-tung  an  official 
less  complaisant  than  the  avaricious  Sheng  existed; 
and  accordingly  in  the  final  American  contract 
signed  at  Hankow  it  was  specifically  stipulated  that 
the  American  group  could  not  transfer  their  rights 
to  other  nations  or  to  men  of  any  other  nationality, 
and  that  any  such  transfer  would  not  only  vitiate  the 
whole  agreement  but  entitle  China  to  cancel  it 
immediately.  But  as  soon  as  it  was  learnt  by  the 
Continental  party  that  the  American  group  proposed 
to  ask  British  capital  to  participate  in  the  building 
of  their  line,  they  re-opened  their  attacks  with 


VII  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  183 


surprising  audacity.  What  the  final  result  has  been 
will  shortly  be  seen. 

Meanwhile  the  so-called  Belgian  Syndicate  pro- 
ceeded to  work  on  the  Hankow-Peking  in  1899 ; 
but  before  construction  had  advanced  very  far  the 
Boxer  outbreak  sent  the  construction-parties  fleeing 
for  their  lives  and  saw  a certain  portion  of  the  com- 
pleted track  ripped  up.  For  this  damage  the 
Belgian  Company  filed  a claim  for  thirty  million 
francs,  which  sum  was  included  in  the  general  Boxer 
indemnity,  although  the  actual  damage  was  assessed 
by  competent  authorities  at  only  three  million  francs. 

The  effacement  of  England  in  1900,  and  the  solid- 
arity of  the  whole  Continent  of  Europe,  now  made 
the  Belgian  group  become  even  more  daring.  The 
original  Brussels  prospectus  had  disclosed  that  three- 
fifths  of  the  money  was  French;  that  the  Belgian 
Syndicate  was  controlled  in  Paris;  and  that  in  the 
event  of  the  American  Syndicate  failing  to  construct 
the  Canton  Railway  the  Socike  d’kude  des  Chemins 
de  jer  en  Chine  had  a paper  in  its  pocket,  directly 
giving  it  the  power  to  take  over  the  southern 
section  of  the  grand  trunk  on  the  same  terms  on 
which  it  had  accepted  the  construction  of  the 
northern  section.  The  final  agreement  already 
referred  to  had  also  disclosed  that  the  Russo-Chinese 
Bank  were  the  bankers  of  the  Company;  that  all 
the  funds,  the  debenture-service,  etc.,  etc.,  were 
handled  by  the  same  concern;  and  that  although, 
nominally,  the  railway  accounts  were  to  be  managed 
by  the  Chinese  Company,  and  the  Belgians  had  only 


i84  trunk  railways  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  chap. 


to  attend  to  construction  and  traffic  management, 
the  foreign  group  had  absolute  control  of  everything. 
After  the  Boxers,  all  masks  were  quickly  thrown  off 
and  certain  new  agreements,  whose  nature  it  has  not 
been  possible  to  learn,  entered  into.  The  most 
important  points  actually  concerning  the  Hankow- 
Peking  road  are  believed  to  be  that  Belgian  capital 
may  now  be  increased  to  200,000,000  francs 
(£S, 000, 000  sterling)  by  the  issue  of  bonds  on  the 
same  terms  as  the  first  issues ; that  the  Belgian 
Syndicate  is  to  receive  a definite  percentage  of  the 
net  profits  over  and  above  bond  interest  — a percen- 
tage stated  to  be  20  per  cent,  of  the  net  earnings; 
and  that  if  the  Chinese  Government  decides  to  buy 
back  the  line  after  1907,  as  it  has  power  to  do  under 
the  1898  contract,  it  must  reimburse  the  Belgian 
Syndicate  for  all  its  expenses. 

But  the  most  interesting  matter  after  1900  became 
the  struggle  centring  round  the  Canton-Hankow 
Concession.  The  Boxer  outbreak  had  delayed  all 
work  in  this  second  section  of  the  grand  trunk, 
and  it  was  not  until  1902  that  details  were  arranged 
to  commence  construction.  Then  the  American 
China  Development  Company  — the  name  adopted 
by  the  concessionnaires  — sent  out  its  engineers,  in 
spite  of  all  Belgian  opposition,  and  commenced  work. 
An  initial  issue  of  bonds,  aggregating  $3,000,000 
gold,  was  made  in  New  York,  surveys  were  com- 
pleted, and  the  Canton-Samshui  section  was  rapidly 
taken  in  hand.  But  it  soon  transpired  that  of  this 
initial  issue  of  £600^000  made  in  New  York,  the 


VII  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  185 


Belgian  group  had  quietly  bought  two-thirds,  and 
that  in  China  they  were  following  a definite  course 
of  action  and  still  heckling  the  Chinese  officials. 
Then,  as  this  proved  not  so  effective  as  was  desired, 
Belgian  opposition  in  China  suddenly  ceased.  The 
reason  was  soon  clear.  Colonel  Thys,  a confidential 
agent  of  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  who  has  acquired 
a certain  fame  in  Congo,  went  to  New  York,  and 
there  with  another  worthy.  General  Whittier,  com- 
menced a deliberate  frontal  attack.  The  Board  of 
Directors  in  New  York  was  soon  overwhelmingly 
Belgian,  and  by  the  end  of  1903  the  Continental 
party  was  so  strong  that  the  accounts  of  the  New 
York  Board  were  disputed  by  the  Brussels  bond- 
holders, all  building  on  the  Canton  line  was  stopped, 
and  the  capital  supplied  by  American  subscribers 
was  refunded  by  the  Societe  (TEtude  so  as  to 
have  absolute  control. 

This  daring  action  so  alarmed  the  Chinese  that 
they  commenced  an  agitation  for  the  cancellation 
of  the  whole  contract.  Then,  in  1904,  the  United 
States  Government  stepped  in  and  further  com- 
plicated matters  by  declaring  that  the  Canton  Rail- 
way Company  was  still  an  American  concern,  and 
recognised  as  such  by  the  Washington  State  De- 
partment. And  since  then  — that  is  for  a period  of 
nearly  two  years  — everything  has  been  in  a hopeless 
dead-lock,  whilst  unending  and  undignified  squabbles 
have  been  going  on. 

Such  is  a brief  and  hurried  account  of  a most 
curious  series  of  international  affairs,  involving  many 


i86  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  chap. 


millions  sterling  of  capital.  Many  points  have  not 
been  touched  on  because  their  discussion  alone 
would  demand  the  pages  of  a volume.  But  all 
which  must  be  written  is  not  yet  finished.  Two 
most  important  branch-lines  are  at  the  present 
moment  being  taken  in  hand  by  the  same  Belgian 
Syndicate  as  the  construction  of  the  northern  sec- 
tion of  the  grand  trunk  nears  completion.  These  are, 
first,  the  Chenting-fu-Taiyuan-fu  Railway,  the  con- 
cession for  which  was  obtained  six  years  ago  by  the 
Russo-Chinese  Bank,  and  which  is  a narrow  gauge 
railway  which  one  day  will  dart  into  Mongolia ; 
secondly,  the  Honan-fu  Kaifeng-fu  branch  line 
which  belongs  to  a subsidiary  Belgian  group,  origi- 
nally stated  to  be  a rival  concern,  but  which  by  thus 
unmasking  shows  its  true  character.  The  former  of 
these  two  railways  will  be  some  250  kilometres  long; 
the  latter  300  kilometres;  thus  immediately  adding 
350  miles  to  so-called  Belgian  control.  But  the 
larger  aspect  of  these  railways  is  fully  discussed 
elsewhere ; the  present  examination  aims  rather 
at  a microscopic  analysis  than  a general  survey. 

Two  weeks  spent  along  the  course  of  the  Hankow- 
Peking  Railway  were  sufficient  to  bring  many  things 
to  light.  The  effects  of  all  these  various  intrigues 
and  counter-intrigues  are  clearly  reflected  in 
construction- work,  in  traffic  control,  and  general 
management.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that 
all  is  confusion,  and  that  bribery  and  corruption  are 
rampant  among  the  native  staff.  The  one  object 
of  the  construction-parties  has  been  to  hasten  on 


VII  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  187 


the  work  at  all  costs,  paying  not  much  attention 
to  anything  excepting  rapid  embankment-building 
and  plate-laying.  Bridges  come  down  with  the 
summer  floods  and  wreck  trains;  but  nobody  cares 
much  excepting  that  it  means  the  spending  of  more 
money.  Sometimes  men  are  killed  in  such  accidents, 
sometimes . not ; but  shoulders  are  shrugged.  Some 
of  the  bridge-building  is  actually  good,  but  it  is  all 
mesquin  compared,  for  instance,  with  the  work  in 
Manchuria.  Along  the  railway  I met  Italians  — 
those  universal  helps  in  world  railway-building  — 
who  had  assisted  in  the  building  of  the  Great  Sun- 
gari and  Nonni  River  bridges.  “Those  were  true 
bridges,’’  they  exclaimed  with  fervour.  “The 
foundations  were  wonderful,  the  masonry  splendid, 
and  every  calculation  exact  and  perfect.  Here  it  is 
quite  different.”  Having  myself  climbed  perilously 
across  the  remaining  shreds  of  several  bridges,  I 
was  able  to  appreciate  this.  Sometimes,  as  I have 
said,  there  is  a good  bridge,  but  only  the  summer 
floods  of  1904,  which  have  frightened  everybody 
very  much  and  caused  many  dismissals,  will  make 
such  a state  of  affairs  general.  Only  the  Great  Yellow 
River  bridge,  which  will  be  three  kilometres  long, 
and  one  of  the  most  powerful  structures  in  the  world, 
is  a notable  exception.  At  the  Yellow  River  there 
are  now  two  great  camps  of  Europeans  and 
thousands  of  Chinese,  and  construction  work, 
costing  as  it  will  a million  sterling  and  more,  has 
had  to  be  the  most  careful  possible.  Any  jerry- 
building  finds  the  river  taking  a prompt  revenge, 


i88  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  chap. 


for  the  terrible  current  and  the  shifting  sands  are 
enough  to  cause  the  collapse  of  almost  any  work. 
Hydraulic  pile-driving  is  proceeding  night  and  day, 
and  steel  screw-piles  {pieux  a vice)  are  being  put 
dovm  to  a depth  of  150  feet  below  the  river-bed 
without  finding  a rocky  bottom.  There  is  no  end 
to  these  sandy  deposits,  and  the  masonry  will  have 
to  rest  on  foundations  which  some  declare  will  in- 
evitably sink.  But  the  best  expert  opinion  believes 
that  the  bridge  wTl  stand  even  the  terrible  tests  to 
which  it  will  be  inevitably  submitted,  as  the  greatest 
precautions  are  being  taken.  The  rest  of  the  work, 
the  building  of  embankments,  culverting,  rail-laying, 
and  ballasting,  etc.,  has  been  extremely  poor,  and, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Manchurian  railway,  has  had  to 
be  largely  done  over  again.  The  organisation  of 
the  staffs  has  also  been  marked  by  the  grossest 
incompetence,  and  an  internecine  warfare  is  con- 
stantly raging  between  la  construction  and  Pexploita- 
tion.  Sections  thrown  open  to  traffic  have  to  be 
handed  back  to  the  constructing  engineers  with 
mutual  recriminations  on  each  side.  It  is  stated, 
I do  not  know  with  what  truth  — that  the  engineer- 
in-chief  receives  a bonus  of  1,000  francs  on  every 
kilometre  he  opens  to  traffic,  which  would  mean 
that  the  1,200  kilometres  of  road  would  give  him  a 
total  bonus  of  ;^48,ooo.  The  salaries  are  high,  the 
chief  engineer  receiving  £4,000  a year  — a vast  sum 
for  a Belgian;  chief  construction  engineers  £2,000 
a year,  and  other  salaries  ranging  with  allowances 
from  £300  to  £1,500.  Some  classes  of  skilled 


vn  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  189 


workmen,  such  as  the  highly  educated  French 
monteurs  de  pont,  receive  as  much  as  a thousand 
francs  a month.  All  nationalities  of  the  Continent 
abound  — Belgians,  Frenchmen,  Italians,  Germans, 
Swedes,  etc.,  being  found  mixed  in  an  odd  pot- 
pourri. Everybody  is  always  fighting  with  every- 
body else,  and  consequently  Italians  are  being  more 
and  more  favoured.  They  express  but  little  resent- 
ment at  being  left  for  weeks  at  a time  alongside  of 
a solitary  cask  of  nails  and  some  rails  so  long  as  the 
macaroni  and  the  Fernet-Branca  do  not  give  out. 
Many  of  the  small  contractors  — in  fact  nearly  all  — 
are  Italians  who  have  worked  under  many  flags.  These 
are  the  men  who  have  been  in  Egypt,  in  North  and 
South  America,  in  Asia  Minor,  and  many  other 
places,  and  can  tell  you  many  odd  stories  of  different 
kinds  of  corruption  in  railway-building.  But  this 
Belgian  concern  is  the  ‘^softest  thing,’’  to  use  an 
Americanism,  they  have  ever  touched,  and  they  are 
quite  frank  about  it.  I met  one  impresario^  a man 
of  no  education,  who  would  be  well  paid  in  Italy 
with  five  lire  a day,  who  stated  that  he  had  amassed 
£$,000.  He  said  that  the  Belgians  were  an  excel- 
lent people  — ‘‘so  careless,”  he  put  it! 

The  manner  in  which  the  recruiting  of  Europeans 
for  this  railway-building  is  carried  out  is  singular. 
Any  one  of  the  five  or  six  different  offices  of  the 
so-called  Belgian  Company  do  a little  of  it  when 
the  spirit  moves  them.  Sometimes,  for  instance, 
Brussels  gets  wind  of  the  fact  that  engine-drivers  are 
needed.  Determined  that  Paris  shall  not  act  before  it. 


190  TRUNK  IL\ILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  chap. 


men  are  chosen  and  hastily  sent  out.  Incidentally 
they  are  told  many  fairy  tales  to  entice  them  to 
go.  One  Belgian  said  that  a director  in  Brussels 
had  told  him  that  all  trains  in  China  go  fifty  kilo- 
metres an  hour  because,  as  the  countr}’  is  dangerous, 
speed  is  counted  a protection ! He  was  at  the  time 
of  my  meeting  him  working  a small  construction 
engine  dating  from  the  year  One  on  a ballasting-line, 
and  cursing  the  day  he  had  left  his  own  country. 
All  the  materials  and  machinery  are  coming  from 
either  France  or  Belgium.  The  Compagnie  Five- 
Lilies  must  be  a big  shareholder,  as  enormous 
quantities  of  its  steel  manufactures  are  ever}^Lere 
to  be  seen.  The  rails  are  partly  supplied  by  the 
Hanyang  iron-works,  but  as  many  of  these  are 
stated  to  have  been  defective,  European  mills  are 
now  getting  the  largest  share  of  these  orders.  All 
the  station-buildings  and  arrangements  along  the 
line  are  mean  and  poor,  and  show  none  of  the 
thoroughness  of  the  newly  constructed  German  line 
in  Shantung. 

But  it  is  in  the  exploits  of  the  Chinese  staff  that 
the  most  amusing  episodes  are  to  be  found.  Never 
have  I seen  such  calm  and  such  open  squeezing! 
The  bad  effects  of  two  rival  authorities  are  here 
witnessed,  the  original  Chinese  Company  and  the 
Belgian  S\Tidicates  having  a nominally  joint  con- 
trol. .Almost  every  bale  of  merchandise  and  every 
Chinese  passenger  contributes  something  towards 
the  up-keep  of  the  native  staff.  On  construction- 
trains  the  hat  is  sent  round  just  as  it  used  to  be  in 


Belgian  Railway  Building. 


vn  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  191 


Manchuria  in  1902  by  the  Russian  engine-drivers, 
and  everybody  pays  something.  The  railway  police 
beat  and  squeeze  everybody,  whilst  the  Chinese 
station-masters  look  on.  So  hard  has  the  screw  been 
turned  on  that  native  contractors  have  reverted  to 
ways  grossly  corrupt  even  for  Chinese.  Not  only 
do  they  do  jerry- work,  but  the  coolies  under  them, 
paid  at  4,500  cash  a month  (say  ten  shillings), 
actually  receive  but  2,800  cash  — (say  six  shillings 
and  sixpence)  — the  rest  being  pocketed  by  their 
shift-bosses. 

The  Belgian  management  is  much  concerned  at 
this  state  of  affairs,  but  can  do  nothing,  absolutely 
nothing,  to  improve  matters.  Not  possessing  a 
single  employe  who  has  any  knowledge  of  Chinese, 
all  are  in  the  hands  of  the  natives.  The  construc- 
tion profits  must  have  been  enormous,  for,  as  there 
is  no  buying-commission  openly  allowed,  it  must  be 
wrapped  up  in  the  cost-price  of  materials.  On  the 
Chinese  side  there  is  no  control,  no  inspection  or 
auditing  of  accounts,  no  examination  of  work  by 
independent  Government  engineers  — each  party  of 
this  ill-assorted  concern  is  left  to  work  out  its  own 
destiny. 

In  spite  of  this  the  prospects  of  the  railway  are 
magnificent,  and  in  capable  hands  it  would  be  a 
veritable  gold-mine.  Divided  into  two  distinct 
halves  by  the  Yellow  River,  the  northern  and 
southern  sections  have  already  distinct  characteris- 
tics. Along  the  northern  section  there  are  no  less 
than  five  enormous  cities  to  be  served  — Peking, 


192  TRUNK  RAILWAYS  AS  POLITICAL  WEAPONS  ch.  vii 


Paotingfu,  Chentingfu,  Changtefu,  and  Shuntefu, 
with  a number  of  minor  places  of  importance.  The 
passenger  traffic  is  already  very  great  here;  in  ten 
years  it  will  be  phenomenal.  On  the  southern  sec- 
tion the  inexhaustible  soil  of  Honan  and  the  various 
rivers  will  bring  raw  produce  in  great  masses  to  the 
railway  to  be  conveyed  to  Hankow.  Basing  my 
calculations  on  the  results  obtained  by  the  northern 
Chinese  railways,  the  net  profits  of  this  line  should 
amount  to  at  least  half  a million  sterling  a year 
immediately,  and  to  a million  or  two  in  five  or  ten 
years.  China  needs  this  money  very  badly,  and 
later  on  it  will  be  seen  how  this  political  weapon, 
forming  one  of  the  results  of  the  Russian  advance, 
may  be  broken  into  pieces,  and  be  changed  into 
a sound  Chinese  Government  enterprise,  which  will 
be  of  the  greatest  help  in  restoring  the  financial 
equipoise  in  China,  so  disturbed  by  the  history  of 
th'"  last  ten  years. 


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Kifi 


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<y  ■•• 


\ 


Under  the  Peking  Walls. 


A Riding  Camel  from  Mongolia. 


\Face  page  193,  Vol.  /. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 

In  the  old  days  before  the  Boxers,  the  Peking 
railway  station  was  far  beyond  the  walls  of  even  the 
Chinese  city  — which  has  not  a tithe  of  the  lustre  of 
the  Tartar  city,  and  is  rather  humble.  Then  you 
had  to  ride  or  drive  from  Machiapu,  which  is  three 
miles  beyond  the  Yung  Ting  Men  or  Gate  of 
Eternal  Prosperity,  and  proceed  two  miles  straight 
through  the  Chinese  town,  until  you  came  on  the 
mighty  bastions  and  keeps  of  the  ChHen  Men  or 
Main  Entrance  to  the  Tartar  City,  where  the 
pleasure  of  your  fantastic  entry  smote  you  full,  and 
you  hugged  yourself  even  in  the  choking  dust  at  an 
enchanted  prospect  which  had  no  equal.  For  here 
would  be  great  strings  of  camels  halted  in  the  wrong 
places,  and  calling  streams  of  blasphemy  from  every 
other  mother’s  son  who  trod  or  rode  the  roads; 
camels  laden  with  merchandise  and  coal,  and 
snarling  shrilly  after  the  manner  of  their  kind  at 
the  indignities  to  which  they  were  put.  If  it  were 
winter  there  would  be  plenty  of  riding  camels  too, 
with  Mongol  men  and  women  seated  on  top,  kicking 


VOL.  I — O 


193 


194 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


their  beasts  along  in  their  coloured  boots,  and 
threading  through  the  crush  with  marvellous  skilL 
Sometimes  there  were  two  people  mounted  on  a 
single  animal,  the  w^oman  on  the  pillion,  clutching 
tightly  to  the  man  and  laughing  down  at  all  who 
stared.  Then  there  were  strange  palanquins  slung 
between  two  mules,  with  sword-armed  and  dust- 
covered  cavaliers  ambling  alongside,  who  had  come 
all  the  way  down  through  the  great  passes  from 
distant  Shansi  and  Shensi,  and  sometimes  even  from 
Mohammedan  Kansu,  which  is  very  far.  As  you 
swung  round  the  great  keep,  you  would  see  to  your 
left,  out  through  a side  entrance,  the  Tartar  Wall, 
mighty  and  massive,  stretching  away  mile  after  mile, 
and  capped  and  crowned  at  regular  interv^als  with 
great  lou  or  storied  towers.  Below  the  wall  was 
a vast  sand-stretch,  furrowed  by  countless  cart- 
wheels and  often  encumbered  with  thousands  of 
camels  coming  or  going,  where  you  might  gallop 
and  gallop  until  you  were  fairly  pumped  and  you 
reached  a camel-back  bridge  — an  almost  perfect 
half-moon  of  stone,  which,  hoisting  its  back  angrily 
in  the  air,  advised  immediate  caution. 

Once  inside  the  Tartar  city  you  would  meet  other 
princely  Manchu  carts,  which  have  their  wheels  set 
very  far  back  and  are  painted  red  so  that  all  may  be 
apprised  of  the  precious  burden  they  carry.  Such 
carts  were  accompanied  by  rough  Manchu  outriders 
seated  on  stocky  ponies  and  ambling  mules,  who  in 
the  old  days  would  not  hesitate  at  driving  you  from 
the  road  or  riding  you  down  should  you  block  the 


VIII 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


195 


way.  Strange  cries  filled  the  air,  and  the  choking 
dust  floated  so  thick  at  times  that  men  and  beasts 
appeared  like  phantoms  coming  and  going.  It  was 
delightful.  It  was  such  a new  world  because  it  was 
so  old  and  . smelt  so  of  Cambalue  and  of  Marco  Polo, 
and  all  the  other  things  which  are  dear  because  they 
belong  to  that  which  has  departed.  It  is  true  the 
smells  were  too  piercing  for  some  and  made  them 
forget  everything  but  their  nostrils;  but  history  has 
no  place  for  noses;  only  for  eyes  and  ears  that  are 
not  too  sensitive. 

Now  in  this  year,  four  years  after  a summer’s 
madness,  you  will  see  none  of  this,  nothing  at  all;  or 
so  little  that  it  is  not  worth  counting.  It  has  all  gone, 
apparently  irretrievably,  and  there  is  but  little  poetry 
left. 

The  disillusion  begins  when  you  are  far  outside 
Peking.  Your  train,  which  has  been  rapidly  steam- 
ing along,  suddenly  slows  down  and  stops.  You  rub 
your  eyes  and  look  again.  Yes,  there  can  be  no 
doubt;  this  is  the  old  Peking  race-course  with  its 
waving  ring  of  willow  trees  surrounding  the  mile  of 
mud  track,  and  the  little  hills  behind  it  which  mask 
a stretch  of  doubtful  water,  where  at  dawn  or  sun- 
down you  might  pick  up  a duck  or  two.  But  instead 
of  the  long  picnic  ride  necessary  in  former  days,  the 
railway  blazons  forth  on  its  station  sign  Champ  de 
courses,”  which  means  that  you  are  borne  here 
now  prosaically  and  detestably  by  rail,  killing  the 
memories  of  other  days. 

The  train  moves  on  again,  and  then  with  the 


196 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


sudden  railway-roar  you  pass  through  the  outer  wall 
of  the  Chinese  city,  and  (horror  of  horrors!)  are 
running  along  this  great  sandy  stretch  under  the 
Tartar  Wall,  which  of  old  was  the  private  and 
inviolate  property  of  camel-trains,  mule-litters, 
travelling  carts  and  galloping,  ponies,  and  is  now 
given  over  to  the  odious  iron-way.  As  you  come 
nearer  to  the  great  Ch’ien  Men  you  scarce  believe 
your  eyes;  native  coal-yards,  grimy  and  jerry-built, 
back  against  the  majestic  Tartar  Wall  itself,  whilst 
their  precious  hong  names  stand  out  everywhere  in 
big,  insolent  characters.  At  last  your  train,  since  it 
has  had  enough  of  it  too,  slides  along  a mud  and 
stone  platform  and  a babel  of  tongues  smites  your 
ears.  You  are  just  below  the  Ch’ien  Men  and 
rickshaw  hordes  press  round  you.  Even  the  rickshaws 
and  their  coolies,  formerly  numbered  in  a few  timid 
dozens,  and  now  running  into  many  hundreds,  have 
all  changed  for  the  worse.  Tientsien  has  sent  up  its 
sweepings  in  men,  and  tattered  creatures  crowd 
around  speaking  a dialect  which  is  not  that  of  the 
great  capital.  A few  Peking  carts  linger  also  at  the 
station,  but  there  is  little  confidence  on  their  drivers^ 
faces,  for  they  have  been  relegated  to  the  position  of 
the  London  growler,  whilst  the  rickshaws,  speeding 
more  swiftly,  have  become  the  hansoms. 

Now,  you  are  trundled  away  by  your  Tientsien 
sweepings,  and  rush  through  the  Ch’ien  Men  keep, 
which  is  walled  and  enclosed  in  a curious  and  vulgar 
fashion  to  protect  the  mule  and  cart  traffic  from  the 
terror  of  the  trains.  Above  you,  instead  of  the  great 


VIII 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


197 


lou  which  were  burnt  during  1900,  dirty  bamboo  mat- 
ting hides  the  furtive  reconstruction  which  has  been 
commenced,  and  once  again  stopped  because  funds 
are  lacking.  Peter  Ibbetson  coming  back  to  his  Mare 
(TAuteuil  could  not  have  felt  more  gloomy.  You 
pass  through  the  Gates,  face  the  Palace  entrance 
and  the  Ta  Ch’ing  Men,  or  Dynastic  Gate,  for  a 
moment,  and  then  turn  east  into  the  Legation 
quarter. 

The  Legation  quarter!  It  is  a Legation  quarter 
no  more,  but  a rude  and  ugly  semi-fortress  split  up 
into  a hundred  great  walled  enclosures  that  are  an 
insult  to  the  eye.  It  is  1900,  and  its  disastrous 
consequences  projected  into  infinity  and  perpetuated 
in  gloomy  brickwork  — insult  upon  insult ; the  sore 
salted.  You  continue  in  the  half-dark  past  sentries 
and  sentry  boxes,  down  the  long  Legation  street 
which  runs  parallel  to  the  Tartar  wall,  and  only 
after  many  minutes  pass  out  of  the  fortifications  at 
the  German  end,  where  an  embattled  gate- way 
having  steel  gates  fitted  with  machine-gun  port- 
holes and  closed  loop-holes  can  bar  your  way. 
Not  until  you  are  under  the  Ha-Ta  Gate  can 
you  breathe  again,  released  from  the  fortress-like 
oppression. 

But  it  is  now  no  easy  job  in  the  complete  dark  to 
find  a hotel.  In  the  old  days  there  was  one  hotel 
only,  famous  for  its  Swiss  host,  who  became  a 
veritable  Hercules  during  the  siege.  There  you 
would  always  find  a curious  band  of  concession- 
hunters,  globe-trotters,  and  sight-seers  sitting  at  the 


198 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


feet  of  the  Swiss,  and  taking  advice  on  subjects 
ranging  from  trunk-line  building  to  excursions  at 
extortionate  rates  to  the  Great  Wall  of  China.  For 
the  hotel-keeper  was  a great  man  and  the  confidant 
of  palace  eunuchs,  and  being  skilled  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  underworld  could  effect  many  things. 
Now  all  that  has  gone  too,  and  there  are  a half 
dozen  ramshackle  inns  crudely  adapted  to  the  white 
man’s  use,  and  smelling  of  the  recent  passage  of 
occupation  armies.  Along  the  streets  a spasmodic 
road-repairing  has  also  occurred  to  conciliate  the 
now  all-powerful  foreigner.  On  the  night  of  my 
arrival  it  was  doubtless  with  the  view  of  impressing 
on  me  the  exact  nature  of  these  reforms,  and  show^- 
ing  how  the  road-gods  were  offended,  that  my  coolies 
slipped  and  allowed  me  to  roll  into  a deep  pit  with 
the  vehicle  upside  down  and  myself  safe  inside.  But 
although  I was  damaged  it  was  nothing  to  what  had 
happened  to  the  unfortunate  men  engaged  in  earning 
a livelihood  in  this  interesting  fashion.  With  a loud 
splash  two  had  fallen  into  a deep  pool  of  water 
along  the  roadway,  whilst  the  third  had  been  flung 
on  some  half-chiselled  flags  of  stone.  All  were 
rescued  excepting  one  in  the  pool,  whose  fate  I have 
not  yet  learnt.  A broken  straw  hat  floating  on  the 
face  of  the  waters  was  apparently  all  that  was  left  of 
him;  but  from  the  muffled  curses  of  his  comrades 
it  was  plain  that  he  was  not  dead  but  had  left 
them  to  face  my  rising  wrath.  It  is  in  such  appro- 
priate fashion  that  you  make  your  arrival. 

When  morning  comes  in  Peking  the  impressions 


vni 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


199 


of  the  night  before  are  not  allowed  to  fade,  but  are 
revived  with  vigour.  At  half-past  six  a rapid  and  well- 
sustained  roll  of  machine-gun  fire  and  much  blowing 
of  infantry  bugles  made  me  spring  from  my  bed. 
Had  another  siege  begun  ? But  an  answering 
servitor  soon  explained.  It  was  only  the  Germans, 
who  were  always  practising  morning,  noon,  and 
night,  and  this  firing  was  a constant  thing.  I 
remembered  then  that  the  Germans  had  been  of 
late  demanding  a big  drill-ground,  and  that  the 
native  newspapers  had  plaintively  asked  how  long 
Baron  von  Ketteler  and  1900  were  going  to  be 
remembered. 

It  was  therefore  to  the  German  compounds  and 
cantonments  that  I first  went.  How  greedy  the 
Germans  have  been ! Right  up  to  the  great  Ha-Ta 
Gate  they  have  stripped  a great  plot  of  ground  bare 
so  that  there  shall  be  no  cover  to  protect  an  enemy 
from  their  rifle  and  machine-gun  fire.  On  this 
glacis,  which  can  be  rapidly  covered  with  barbed 
wire  and  other  obstructions,  kept  carefully  ready, 
you  have  but  a taste  of  that  which  is  to  follow;  for 
immediately  behind  is  the  fortified  wall  with  loop- 
holes so  carelessly  blocked  that  any  one  can  see  it 
has  been  prepared  for  lines  of  riflemen  and  for 
nothing  else.  Behind  this  you  come  on  great,  ugly, 
German  barracks,  styled  the  Waldersee  Caserne 
in  memory  of  the  great  commander  who  arrived 
when  everything  was  finished  in  1900.  German 
infantry  and  gunners  lounge  at  the  barrack  gates 
and  gaze  with  that  insolence  which  is  the  birthright 


200 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


of  the  disciplined  Prussian.  For  hundreds  of  yards 
the  German  lines  extend  down  this  main  street,  and 
it  is  not  until  the  French  Legation  is  reached  on  the 
opposite  side  that  the  German  slice  seems  about  to 
end.  A great  Catholic  church  has  been  raised  by 
the  French  where  the  Boxers  and  Imperialists  were 
finally  held  in  check  by  the  gallant  French  sailors 
in  1900;  and  then,  following  one  another  rapidly. 
Legation  after  Legation,  with  vast  walls  enclosing 
each,  and  armed  sentries  at  every  gate,  entrance, 
and  corner,  spread  a half  mile  and  more  down  the 
street.  Sometimes  there  are  privileged  buildings 
such  as  banks,  shops,  and  future  hotels  pushing  in 
between  the  walled  compounds  of  the  foreign 
Missions,  but  these  are  mere  side-shows  — the 
Legations  are  the  main  attractions.  Thus  you 
may  walk  down  dusty  Legation  street  until  you 
come  to  the  famous  canal,  the  Y u-Ho,  which  in 
the  old  days  was  the  central  rallying-place  for  all 
the  bad  smells  of  this  world.  Then  a doubtful 
stream  of  muddy  water  a few  inches  deep  coursed 
down  the  middle,  whilst  piles  of  garbage  and 
general  rubbish  were  carelessly  dumped  over  its 
banks  to  be  finally  blown  away  in  small  daily 
quantities  when  the  dust  storms  blew.  That  is  all 
gone  now  too,  and  you  would  almost  pass  by  the 
old  canal  without  noticing  it  were  it  not  for  a new 
gateway  which  has  been  pierced  through  the  Tartar 
Wall.  This  is  the  well-known  Shut  Men  or  Water 
Gate,  through  which  the  first  men  — Sikhs  — came  in 
1900.  They  had  merely  to  kick  down  the  wooden- 


VIII 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


201 


barred  gate,  rotten  with  age,  to  find  themselves 
within  the  defenders’  lines. 

In  memoriam  of  these  things  the  archway  of  the 
Water  Gate  has  been  heightened,  the  canal  bridged 
over  with  masonry  and  brick-work,  and  a flat  road 
now  leads  straight  to  the  second  railway  station  of 
the  Tientsien  line,  which  is  just  beyond  the  Tartar 
Wall.  The  canal  itself,  which  runs  away  due  north 
until  half  a mile  away  it  creeps  under  the  pink  walls 
of  the  Imperial  City,  has  been  narrowed  to  half  its 
size  by  European  sappers,  and  neatly  bricked  and 
parapeted ; and  nothing  remains  of  the  waterway 
which  was  designed  in  old  days  to  feed  the  broad 
moats  of  the  Forbidden  City  so  that  no  enemy 
might  steal  in  when  active  warfare  was  proceeding. 

At  the  other  end  of  Legation  street  a huge  French 
hospital,  where  the  wounded  of  a second  siege,  which 
the  Legations  are  inviting,  might  be  treated  in 

hundreds,  rears  itself  and  spreads  over  acres  of 
ground.  And  at  this  end  even  the  Dutch,  whose 
interests  in  China  are  negligible,  have  added  im- 

mensely to  their  grounds  and  brought  up  fifty 
marines.  And  the  Belgians  have  done  the  same. 

Alone,  decadent  Spain  is  content  to  protect  itself  by 
sandwiching  in  between  other  Legations.  Of  the 
others,  every  one  has  from  fifty  to  three  hundred 
guards,  and  some  proclaim  that  even  these  are 

insufficient. 

Once  beyond  this  Legation  square,  the  high  walls 
which  enclose  give  it  an  additional  significance. 
The  Legation  area  has  become  a mere  Ghetto  shut 


202 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


off  from  the  rest  of  the  world  and  knowing  but  little 
of  what  is  going  on  in  China.  No  matter  if  you 
turn  north,  south,  east,  or  west,  the  walls  follow  you 
everywhere  with  their  loop-holed  eyes,  and  sternly 
bring  you  back  to  the  grimness  of  the  situation. 
The  loop-holes,  it  is  true,  are  mostly  blocked  up,  but 
the  lighter  patches  of  colour  show  you  when  the  sun 
strikes  exactly  where  each  rifleman  would  take  his 
stand;  and  every  Chinese  and  Manchu  in  Peking 
knows  this  equally  well.  And  then  you  can  enter 
only  through  the  armoured  gates,  which  are  only 
four  in  number. 

At  the  northern  entrance  the  gates  which  give 
access  to  the  foreigners’  Forbidden  City  have  been 
prettily  embattled  — the  gentle  fancy  of  a British 
architect  to  soothe  outraged  feelings.  Coming  in 
you  see  no  sentry  on  the  British  side  of  the  canal 
and  you  feel  relieved.  At  least  the  English  have 
had  sense  enough  to  know  that  an  armed  sentry 
paraded  at  a gateway  does  not  protect,  but  merely 
irritates.  Farther  down  this  canal  street  is  the 
main  entrance  of  the  British  Legation,  magnificent 
now  as  no  other  Legation  in  Peking,  since  to  the 
spacious  grounds  of  the  former  Manchu  Prince  have 
been  added  all  those  pieces  of  Chinese  Government 
property  lying  on  this  side  of  the  square.  In  the 
British  Legation  there  is  little  enough  military 
parade,  but  only  new  building  going  on. 

But  it  is  outside,  across  the  canal,  that  your  ire  is 
aroused  afresh.  Immediately  in  front  of  you  is  a 
side  entrance  to  the  Japanese  Legation  on  a half  of 


View  of  the  Fortified  Legations  — The  Eastern  Entrance. 


yFace  page  202,  Vol.  /• 


The  Fortified  Legations — Northern  Entrance. 


vni 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


203 


the  fiercely  contested  Su-wang-fu  of  1900.  But  it 
is  not  this  which  arouses  your  ire,  for  if  ever  men 
deserved  to  hold  a piece  of  ground  by  right  of 
conquest  it  is  the  gallant  Japanese  after  the  exploits 
of  Colonel  Shiba  and  his  men.  For  it  was  they  on 
this  ground  who  fought  for  nearly  two  months  until 
there  was  nothing  much  left  of  them  or  their  positions. 
Another  week  or  two  and  Chinese  desperadoes, 
having  pierced  through  this  important  outwork, 
would  have  been  able  to  attack  directly  the  British 
Legation  — the  base  where  were  stored  the  women, 
children,  and  useless  people  during  the  siege  — 
which  would  have  been  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
But  look  due  north  and  you  will  see  the  cause  for 
anger.  Floating  from  the  top  of  a high  mound  the 
Italian  tricolour  is  to  be  seen,  and  beside  it,  almost 
flush  with  the  top  of  the  Legation  walls  so  that 
they  command  a view  of  everything  and  are  like- 
wise seen  by  everybody,  Italian  sentries  pace,  pretty 
sailor-fellows  with  curled  moustachios.  Beside  the 
flag-staff  there  is  another  mast,  the  Marconi  mast, 
which  connects  Peking  with  Taku,  and  has  been  put 
up  under  the  personal  supervision  of  the  Italian 
admiral.  What  are  the  Italians  doing  here?  I will 
tell,  because  it  makes  instructive  reading  and  shows 
how  things  are  acquired  in  the  Far  East. 

In  1900  when,  after  a very  short  struggle,  the 
Italians  were  driven  hastily  out  of  their  Legation, 
which  was  right  round  on  the  other  side  of  the  square 
near  the  French,  no  one  knew  exactly  what  to  do  with 
them.  The  French  did  not  want  them,  for  the 


204 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


French  are ' the  premier  Latins  and  esteem  all 
others  very  poorly;  so  the  Italian  Minister  and  his 
staff  fled  ingloriously  to  the  British  Legation,  and 
the  Italian  sailors  tramped  in  there  too,  awaiting 
orders.  It  was  then  decided  that  as  the  Japanese 
and  some  English  volunteers  were  garrisoning  a 
quarter  of  a mile  of  front,  it  would  not  be  derogatory 
if  the  main  body  of  Italians  were  given  a portion  of 
this  work.  So  they  were  given  a mound,  which 
commanded  a portion  of  the  defence  — a mound 
which  was  almost  exactly  on  the  same  spot  as  where 
the  masts  now  stand.  In  ten  days  the  Italians  had 
fired  away  all  their  ammunition,  and  had  to  be  given 
captured  rifles  with  a few  rounds  apiece  and  told 
not  to  fire.  A sortie  undertaken  by  their  commander, 
who  was  a brave  man,  ended  in  a sauve  qui  pent 
which  was  hushed  up.  Later  on,  with  their  com- 
mander dangerously  wounded,  they  retired  on 
occasions  without  orders,  jeopardising  the  whole 
line  of  the  defence,  until  they  had,  in  the  end,  to 
be  closely  “sandwiched,’’  which  is  an  ignominious 
end. 

But  on  the  day  of  the  relief  the  Italian  tricolour 
went  gaily  enough  up  over  the  recovered  mound 
and  an  immense  piece  of  ground  was  staked  off  as  a 
prize  of  victory.  Italian  sailors  of  the  relieving 
columns  were  then  bivouacked  there,  and  in  spite  of 
great  Japanese  indignation  could  not  be  ousted. 
But  not  only  this.  To  complete  their  grounds  and 
to  square  them  off,  the  Italians  staked  off  a large 
part  of  Sir  Robert  Hart’s  compounds,  on  which  lay 


VIII 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


205 


his  ruined  houses  and  offices.  This  proved  too 
much  for  everybody.  Dr.  Morrison  began  tele- 
graphing to  the  Times;  the  British  Government 
looked  like  speaking  ; and  in  the  end  the  Italian 
Minister  had  to  go  and  beg  Sir  Robert  Hart  to 
consent  to  what  had  been  done  or  else  the  Italian 
Government  would  disgrace  him.  Sir  Robert  Hart, 
skilled  in  diplomacy,  yielded,  and  thus  the  Italians, 
by  a system  of  jumping  other  people’s  claims,  have 
built  themselves  an  enormous  Legation  which  they 
garrison  strongly  with  pretty  sailors.  Such  accounts 
as  this  are  useful  in  these  days  of  shattered  reputa- 
tions; for  strange  things  may  yet  happen  in  Peking 
once  more. 

At  the  north-east  corner  is  the  fourth  entrance  to 
the  Legation  fortress,  and  here  the  Austrians,  on 
ground  which  they  also  abandoned  without  rhyme 
or  reason  in  1900  after  the  first  shots  had  been 
fired,  hold  sway.  And  this  entrance,  with  its 
doubled  black  walls  and  steel  gates,  is  the  most  ugly 
of  all.  Revolver-armed  Austrian  sailors  stand 
inside  the  gates  and  scan  you  closely  as  you  walk, 
allowing  no  unauthorised  Chinese  to  pass  into  their 
Forbidden  City. 

What  else  is  there  in  Peking  in  this  year  of  grace, 
with  the  mighty  Russo-Japanese  struggle  raging 
more  and  more  fiercely,  and  the  petty  Peking  world 
more  and  more  alarmed  ? Nothing,  or  at  least 
nothing  much ; for  the  square-mile  of  armed  and 
fortified  Legations  with  their  fifteen  hundred  guards, 
and  a command  rotating  from  one  commander  to 


2o6 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


another,  so  that  international  jealousies  may  not 
appear  on  the  surface,  is  the  thing  of  all  things  in 
Peking,  and  everything  else  revolves  round  it  — 
excepting  one  thing  which  I will  presently  explain. 
The  very  Tartar  walls  seem  to  have  lost  their  old- 
time  grandeur  and  appear  almost  dwarfed  by  the 
countless  Legation  walls  and  enclosures.  The 

finest  Tartar  towers  have  all  gone  and  have  not 
been  replaced ; block-houses  have  been  built  on 
the  Tartar  Wall  itself  parallel  to  the  eastern  and 
western  face  of  the  fortress,  so  that  no  Chinese 
troops  may  fire  dovm  from  this  point  of  vantage  on 
their  enemies.  And  distances,  too,  have  been 
nicely  calculated  so  that  at  a given  signal  howitzers 
could  drop  shells  from  the  Legations  right  on  top  of 
the  Empress  Dowager  two  miles  away.  It  is  a pleasant 
picture  and  gives  a fine  promise  for  the  future. 
Even  the  native  despatch-vTiters  and  teachers 
employed  at  the  Legations  have  to  seek  their 
midday  meals  hurriedly  in  a little  cook-house 
secreted  at  the  back,  because  it  is  forbidden  for 
Chinese  to  have  any  establishment  whatsoever 
within  the  fortified  lines.  Chinese  officials  are  for- 
bidden to  go  openly  through  the  foreign  quarter, 
and  many  have  been  quite  recently  dragged  from 
their  carts  and  brutally  treated  by  the  common 
European  soldiery,  who  are  engaged  in  “protecting’^ 
their  Ministers.  And  painted  at  the  street  corners 
are  new  names,  invented  by  those  who  have  done 
nothing  for  China;  and  now  you  may  still  stroll  down 
the  Boulevard  dTtalie,  or  the  Thomaun  Strasse ! 


VIII 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


207 


As  I have  already  said,  there  is  only  one  other 
thing  worth  seeing  in  Peking  — it  is  no  other  than 
Dr.  Morrison.  Just  as  the  Chinese  Government 
watches  the  provinces  and  the  Legations  watch  the 
Chinese  Government,  so  does  Dr.  Morrison  watch 
the  Legations,  which  is  the  finest  thing  of  all.  For 
there  is  much  to  discover. 

Outside  the  fortress  limits,  and  not  a thousand 
yards  from  the  Austrian  entrance,  you  will  find  the 
usual  porte-cochere  which  adorns  the  houses  of  rich 
Chinese.  A card  is  nailed  over  the  usual  Peking 
card-box  and  a furled  Union  Jack,  ready  to  be  stuck 
up,  should  eventualities  justify  it,  is  posted  near:  it 
is  the  private  residence  of  the  official  correspondent 
of  the  Times.  You  shout  at  the  door  for  the  gate- 
keeper, for  in  official  Peking  there  are  no  bells.  A 
deep-voiced  Cha,  with  the  a pronounced  after  the 
Manchu  fashion,  which  is  very  round  and  guttural, 
answers  you,  and  a native  gentleman,  whom  you 
have  apparently  disturbed  in  the  middle  of  some 
absorbing  occupation,  comes  out.  No  one  is  in  or 
to  be  seen.  There  are  three  visitors’  carts,  but  in 
the  diplomatic  world  you  can  be  manifestly  out  and 
as  manifestly  in.  It  is  a matter  of  argument.  After 
endless  pourparlers  and  rapid  internal  arrangements, 
you  are  ushered  silently  into  a room  with  a confused 
sound  of  voices  somewhere  near.  You  wait  patiently. 
Then  you  become  oddly  conscious  that  there  is 
someone  else  waiting  equally  patiently  with  but  a 
glass  door  separating  you,  and  that  that  someone 
is  probably  watching  you.  You  conceal  yourself 


2o8 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


hastily  in  the  depths  of  a chair  and  take  up  many 
newspapers  which  make  an  accursed  rattle.  Vague 
sounds  tickle  the  tympanums  ^ of  your  ears,  and  the 
situation  is  becoming  c^harming.  Suddenly,  when 
you  least  expect  it,  another  door  opens  and  a second 
person,  blowing  his  nose  so  completely  and  efficiently 
that  the  essential  features  of  the  face  are  lost,  passes 
rapidly  out.  It  is  worse  than  the  dentist’s.  Then 
the  third  door  opens  and  the  third  person  quite 
openly  comes  out  in  the  company  of  the  Dr.  Nikola 
of  the  higher  journalism,  and  annoys  you  by  mani- 
festly talking  for  your  ears  about  the  war.  At  last 
you  may  have  Dr.  Morrison  to  yourself  for  a few 
moments  — but  not  for  very  long,  as  the  sounds 
from  beyond  the  glass  door  become  too  ominous 
to  be  mistaken.  For  a minute  you  are  asked  to 
retire,  and  so,  gallantly  covering  yourself  with  more 
newspapers  and  half  swallowing  the  few  remaining 
ones  to  choke  the  noises  oozing  from  your  throat, 
the  terror  of  the  glass  door  is  at  last  over  and  the 
coast  may  seem  completely  clear.  In  this  furtive 
fashion  you  unmask  the  Peking  lion  in  his  den.  But 
his  time  is  precious,  since  his  word  is  now  more 
powerful  than  that  of  the  British  Minister,  which  for 
years  has  not  been  very  much,  but  which  now,  they 
protest,  is  a little  more  weighty.  Other  doors  may 
now  rattle  insistent  messages  — so  good-bye.  You 
have  convinced  yourself  that  if  the  Legations  watch 
the  Chinese  Government,  which  watches  the  pro- 
vinces, they  in  turn  are  all  equally  well  watched,  in  a 
manner  which  has  caused,  and  still  causes,  the  chan- 


VIII 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


209 


celleries  of  Europe  often  to  curse  and  grind  their 
teeth. 

Beyond  these  things  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen 
in  Peking,  as  I have  already  said.  The  accustomed 
sights,  which  are  the  great  Temples,  the  outer  ring 
of  the  Forbidden  City,  the  Summer  Palace,  and  the 
magnificent  halls  of  many  Princes,  have  now  long 
been  half-closed,  and  even  the  curio  shops  have  not 
yet  been  re-stocked  since  the  year  of  tribulation. 
Although  the  streets  are  much  the  same  as  ever, 
1900  has  left  an  extraordinary  mark  which  four 
years  have  not  sufficed  to  erase.  What  is  it?  You 
cannot  answer  in  a few  sentences.  It  is  merely  one 
of  those  things  which  you  feel,  and  which  all  your 
senses  and  your  Chinamen  tell  you  is  true.  The 
very  servants  have  all  changed  and  are  no  longer 
recruited  from  the  same  class  of  men.  Formerly 
Roman  Catholic  Bannermen,  whose  families  date 
their  allegiance  to  the  Church  of  Rome  from  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  who  dwell  in  a vast  district 
which  surrounds  Monseigneur  Favier’s  famous  Pei- 
t’ang,  served  in  the  Legations  and  the  foreign 
quarter.  After  1900  and  the  payment  to  native 
converts  of  a per  capita  indemnity  for  their  losses, 
they  withdrew  to  the  bosoms  of  their  families,  and  a 
new  and  vulgar  race  of  serving-men  with  none  of 
the  old  traditions  has  sprung  up.  The  very  Peking 
wu-lai-tzUj  or  beggars,  have  changed  in  appearance, 
and  the  beggars’  guild  must  be  almost  dead.  The 
famous  porcelain  shops  have  now  but  wretched 
collections,  and  their  owners  would  rather  talk  about 

VOL.  I — P 


210 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


CHAP. 


the  good  old  times  than  waste  their  breath  inventing 
stories  concerning  the  antiquity  of  vases  recently 
delivered  from  the  Kin-te-chen  factories,  which  are 
behind  Kiu-kiang.  The  beautiful  bronze  instru- 
ments with  their  splendid  dragon  decorations  in  the 
old  Peking  observatory,  which  were  the  gifts  of  a 
Louis  of  France,  have  all  disappeared,  looted  by  the 
Germans,  and  now  adorn  the  capital  of  the  Mailed 
Fist.  An  unnoteworthy  marble  p^ai-lou,  or  com- 
memorative arch,  has  been  raised  to  the  memory  of 
poor  Baron  von  Ketteler;  and  the  rifle  and  machine- 
gun  practice  of  the  German  Legation  guards  must 
make  his  valiant  spirit,  which  never  knew  fear,  to 
laugh  in  disgust.  It  is  a sorry  capital,  this  Peking 
in  1904,  and  unless  the  Japanese  do  their  work 
thoroughly  in  Manchuria  and  certain  other  things 
are  attended  to,  there  is  every  chance  that  Sir 
Robert  Hart’s  prophecy,  mocked  at  by  all  those  who 
know  nothing  of  China,  will  one  day  be  fulfilled. 
Surveying  these  petty  armed  Legations  and  this 
broken  capital  it  is  good  to  repeat  these  words  and 
refresh  short  memories: 

^‘.  . . The  words  ^imperil  the  world’s  future’ 
will  doubtless  provoke  a laugh  — well,  let  them  do 
so,  but  let  them  stand ! Twenty  millions  or  more 
of  Boxers,  armed,  drilled,  and  disciplined,  and 
animated  by  patriotic  — if  mistaken  — motives  will 
make  residence  in  China  impossible  for  foreigners; 
will  take  back  from  foreigners  everything 
foreigners  have  taken  from  China;  will  pay  off  old 
grudges  with  interest;  and  will  carry  the  Chinese 


vni 


PEKING  UNDER  THE  FOREIGN  HEEL 


2II 


flag  and  Chinese  arms  into  many  a place  that  even 
fancy  will  not  suggest  to-day,  thus  preparing  for 
future  upheavals  and  disasters  never  even  dreamed 
of.  In  fifty  years’  time  there  will  be  millions  of 
Boxers  in  serried  ranks  and  war’s  panoply  at  the 
call  of  the  Chinese  Government:  there  is  not  the 
slightest  doubt  of  that ! And  if  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment continues  to  exist  it  will  encourage,  and  it  will 
be  quite  right  to  encourage,  uphold,  and  develop  this 
national  movement  which  bodes  no  good  for  the  rest 
of  the  world.” 

In  sight  of  the  fortified  Legations  with  their 
garrison  of  fifteen  hundred  guards;  their  fussy  little 
Ministers  who  are  so  full  of  importance  and  yet  hate 
their  virtual  imprisonment ; their  Marconi  mast 
guarded  by  pretty  Italian  sailors  ready  to  flash  a 
wave  of  alarm  down  to  Taku;  with  Dr.  Morrison 
watchful  outside;  the  railway  stations  just  beyond 
the  Tartar  wall:  with  all  these  things  which,  taken 
as  a whole,  make  a great  capital  ridiculous  and 
Seoul-like,  it  is  time  to  examine  the  Chinese 
Government  and  the  Manchu  Court,  and  to  attempt 
to  gauge  the  feelings  of  these  two  important  factors 
in  the  general  situation,  and  to  try  and  understand 
what  may  happen. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  MANCHU  COURT 

Once  more,  leading  to  yet  another  point  of  view, 
it  is  necessary  to  set  out  the  landmarks  of  Chinese 
history. 

Not  long  after  the  beginning  of  time,  if  we  accept 
the  chronology  of  the  Bible,  there  were  a good  many 
Chinese  distressing  other  people  with  their  presence; 
and  no  sooner  had  they  gathered  themselves  to- 
gether again  near  the  upper  waters  of  the  Yellow 
River,  after  their  migration  of  some  five  thousand 
years  ago,  than  they  began  organising  themselves 
into  petty  States.  Binding  themselves  together  on 
the  most  approved  communistic  principles,  as  a 
protection  against  the  indigenous  peoples  who  must 
have  surrounded  them,  they  quickly  developed  the 
germs  of  their  present  system  of  government.  One 
of  their  first  leaders,  Fu-shi,  invented  writing  as  well 
as  a system  of  horary  and  cyclical  notation,  and 
framed  the  laws  of  marriage.  Another  ancient  King 
placed  agriculture  in  the  high  place  it  still  occupies; 
a third  invented  currency  and  utensils  of  metal;  and 
thus  during  the  whole  of  the  mythical  period  the 


212 


CH.  IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  213 


chiefs  of  the  early  Chinese  fathers  were  the  true 
leaders  of  their  inconsiderable  States  and  justified 
their  positions  by  their  industry  and  inventive 
powers. 

By  the  time  of  the  advent  to  power  of  the 
Emperor  Yao,  almost  exactly  four  thousand  years 
ago,  the  office  of  supreme  ruler  of  the  Chinese 
people  had  been  firmly  established.  It  did  not 

become  hereditary,  however,  for  many  centuries, 
and  all  through  ancient  history  the  misconduct  of 
the  sovereign,  if  continued  and  unbearable,  brought 
about  the  prompt  fall  of  his  house,  and  the  sceptre 
passed  into  more  capable  and  worthy  hands.  The 
early  idea  of  the  Chinese  people  in  the  matter  of 
their  rulers  is  therefore  clear  and  reasonable.  The 
Emperor  as  the  Son  of  Heaven  was  the  de  facto 
ruler  and  supreme  chief  of  the  State  so  long  as  he 
merited  holding  that  office;  but  once  he  had  for- 
feited the  regard  of  his  people  he  and  all  his 
relations  were  swept  away  without  any  regard  for 
the  semi-sacred  character  with  which  Chinese 
culture  had  invested  the  Throne. 

In  time  the  power  of  these  early  Emperors  in- 
creased considerably,  but  it  is  evident  that  for  many 
centuries  they  were  in  practice,  however  much  they 
might  be  other  things  in  theory,  only  the  suzerains 
of  a congeries  of  petty  ducal  or  princely  States,  which 
spread  from  the  confines  of  Mongolia  to  the  banks 
of  the  Yangtsze-kiang,  and  which,  so  long  as  they 
were  not  unduly  interfered  with,  delighted  to  recog- 
nise the  virtues  and  attributes  of  the  Son  of  Heaven, 


214  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


who,  in  his  Imperial  Yellow,  represented  something 
of  the  power  of  the  Great  Unseen. 

In  the  third  century  before  Christ  a change  came. 
The  Emperor  Chi-Huang-ti,  builder  of  that  vast 
work,  the  Great  Wall  of  China,  in  a fit  of  conceit 
and  jealousy  ordered  that  all  the  classics  and  litera- 
ture of  the  country  be  destroyed  by  fire ; that 
the  Empire  be  divided  up  into  provinces,  and  that 
the  power  of  the  feudal  states  and  the  haughty 
literati  be  once  and  for  all  crushed.  This  Emperor 
was  partially  successful,  and  although  shortly  after 
his  son’s  accession  his  house  was  swept  away,  a 
mxovement  which  was  to  bear  immediate  fruit  had 
been  begun.  In  b.c.  206  a soldier  of  fortune, 
chief  of  a great  feudal  force,  captured  the  capital 
of  the  Empire  and  founded  the  great  Chinese 

dynasty  of  the  Han.  The  power  of  the  feudal 

princes  north  of  the  Yangtsze  was  now  finally 
destroyed,  and  their  States  formally  incorporated 
in  the  Empire,  the  provincial  governor  being  sub- 
stituted for  the  feudal  prince.  Expeditions  were 

despatched  south  of  the  Yangtsze,  and  a great 
portion  of  the  Chinese  Empire  of  to-day  came  under 
the  rule  of  the  occupant  of  the  Dragon  Throne.  A 
step  had  been  made  in  advance,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  T’ang  Dynasty  (a.d.  618-907)  that  Southern 
China  with  its  feudal  chiefs  was  made  directly 

subordinate  to  the  authority  of  the  Imperial  Throne. 
By  all  this  it  will  have  been  understood  that,  begin- 
ning as  shepherd  kings  at  least  five  centuries  before 
Christ,  the  Emperors  of  China  had  succeeded  in 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  215 


slowly  consolidating  their  power  and  destroying 
feudalism  so  successfully  that  long  before  the  eighth 
century  of  the  Christian  era  their  task  was  complete, 
and  the  Emperor,  as  Son  of  Heaven  and  Vicar  of 
God,  governed  his  people  directly  through  his  high 
officers  from  Mongolia  to  the  confines  of  Burma. 
Occasionally,  it  is  true,  civil  wars  would  allow  pro- 
visional forms  of  government  to  be  established,  and 
small  kingdoms  to  rise;  but  such  things  were  very 
fleeting,  and  in  due  course  the  power  of  the 
sovereign  was  always  re-established. 

It  was  soon  after  the  last  of  the  T’ang  Dynasty 
had  disappeared  that  the  northern  barbarians,  after 
being  quiet  for  some  centuries,  began  anew  their 
series  of  great  raids  which,  after  lasting  for  centuries 
and  sometimes  succeeding  in  planting  dynasties  on 
Chinese  soil  for  lengthy  periods,  culminated  in  the 
firm  establishment  of  the  Manchu  Tartars  in  Peking 
in  1644. 

The  first  task  of  the  Manchus  was  to  subdue 
completely  the  eighteen  provinces  of  China ; to 
place  the  government  of  Manchuria  and  Mongolia 
on  a firm  military  basis;  to  exact  tribute  from  all 
neighbouring  countries,  such  as  Burma  and  Indo- 
China;  and  to  revive  all  the  Chinese  methods  for 
carrying  on  the  government  of  the  country  they  had 
captured.  It  was  a difficult  undertaking,  but  at 
length,  after  thirty  years’  hard  work,  coupled  with  an 
exhibition  of  much  good  sense,  the  Manchus  suc- 
ceeded in  restoring  the  Chinese  machinery  which 
had  served  its  purpose  for  so  many  years,  although 


2i6  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


it  had  been  damaged  by  internal  upheavals  and  the 
incursions  of  savage  men  like  themselves. 

This  step,  so  curious  for  conquerors  to  take,  was  no 
great  one  for  the  Manchus,  for  they  themselves  had 
early  recognised  that  knowledge  and  education  were 
absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  govern  well.  And  even 
before  Moukden  had  become  the  capital  of  the  Man- 
churian Empire  founded  by  Nurhachu,  they  had 
invented  a system  of  writing  for  their  own  language 
and  encouraged  study  by  every  means  within  their 
power.  No  sooner  did  they  enter  Peking  than 
they  accepted,  practically  without  modifications,  the 
Chinese  system  as  they  found  it,  and  set  to  work  not 
to  destroy,  but  to  strengthen  with  all  the  means  at 
their  disposal  the  bonds  which  bound  the  Throne  to 
the  Chinese  people.  What  were  these  bonds 
which,  begun  in  the  days  of  the  early  Chinese 
fathers,  had  been  so  cunningly  fashioned  that  they 
had  successfully  borne  the  most  stupendous  test  of 
time  recorded  in  the  world’s  history?  It  becomes 
necessary  to  explain  in  some  detail. 

The  Chinese  system  of  government  is  at  once 
patriarchal  and  democratic.  Beginning  with  the 
Emperor,  it  is  clear  that  he  simply  stands  in  loco 
parentis  to  his  people  and  symbolises  in  his  person 
the  highest  authority  on  earth.  In  the  simple 
heaven-worship  of  the  ruler  is  found  the  dominant 
note  of  the  Chinese  system.  By  divine  providence 
the  Emperor  is  seated  on  the  Throne.  Once  placed 
there  he  is  the  sire,  and  his  officers  are  the  respon- 
sible elders  of  the  provinces,  the  departments  and 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  217 


the  districts,  as  every  father  of  a household  is  the 
ruler  of  its  inmates.  In  theory,  therefore,  the  two 
leading  principles  by  which  the  Chinese  administra- 
tion preserves  its  power  over  the  people  are,  the 
exercising  of  a strict  surveillance,  and  the  imposing 
of  mutual  responsibility  on  all  classes.  But  in  prac- 
tice it  is  government  by  equipoise  and  compromise 
and  nothing  else;  and  a few  words  dealing  with  the 
Central  Government  and  the  Provincial  administra- 
tion will  make  this  clear. 

Supreme  in  Peking,  and  possessing  the  privilege 
of  daily  audiences  with  the  Throne,  are  two  bodies, 
to  be  numbered  in  whose  ranks  is  the  dearest 
privilege  of  Chinese  officialdom.  These  two  bodies 
are  the  Chim  Chi  Ch*u  or  Grand  Council,  and  the 
Nei-ko,  or  Grand  Secretariat.  Which  is  the  more 
important  body  ? It  is  hard  to  say,  because  the 
Grand  Council  has  somewhat  superseded  the  Grand 
Secretariat  in  active  importance,  yet  to  be  styled  a 
Ta  Hsueh  shih,  or  Grand  Secretary,  confers  the 
highest  distinction  attainable  by  Chinese  officials, 
and  possesses  a greater  literary  magnificence  than 
to  be  a Chun  Chi  ta-ch'en  or  member  of  the  Grand 
Council.  Expressed  differently,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  Grand  Council,  composed  of  Ministers  holding 
other  substantive  offices,  transacts  the  real  business 
of  the  Empire,  whilst  the  Grand  Secretariat  confines 
itself  to  purely  internal  matters  which  involve  prin- 
ciples which  may  be  dear  to  literati  but  which  are 
in  reality  unessential  to  the  welfare  of  the  Empire. 
In  1900  it  was  the  Grand  Council,  with  its  numbers 


2i8  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


temporarily  greatly  swelled  by  the  presence  of  all 
the  Manchu  princes  and  nobles  and  by  all  the  im- 
portant Presidents  and  Vice-Presidents  of  the  great 
Peking  Boards,  which  decided  the  Throne’s  course 
of  action,  whilst  the  thunder  of  the  Boxers  was  at 
its  worst  and  the  Court  did  not  know  how  to  act. 

Under  these  two  deliberative  or  advisory  bodies 
are  the  great  government  offices  through  whose 
hands  pass  the  daily  business  of  the  Empire,  and 
whose  suggestions,  complaints,  reports,  and  plans 
are  handed  to  the  Throne  by  members  of  the  Grand 
Council  and  others  at  the  Daybreak  Audiences. 
There  are  now  seven  of  these  great  Government 
Boards,  — the  Boards  of  Civil  Office,  Revenue, 
Ceremonies,  War,  Punishments,  Works,  and  Foreign 
Affairs.  An  eighth,  the  Board  of  Commerce,  whose 
creation  has  been  recently  sanctioned  by  Imperial 
Edict,  as  yet  possesses  an  importance  too  trivial  to 
be  seriously  considered. 

These  seven  Boards,  therefore,  correspond  to  the 
Ministries  of  other  countries.  But  their  organisa- 
tion is  peculiar  and  gives  the  first  evidence  of  the 
^‘equipoise”  so  essential  in  Chinese  affairs.  Each 
Board  has  two  Presidents,  one  being  Manchu  and 
the  other  Chinese,  and  four  Vice-Presidents,  two  of 
whom  are  Manchu  and  two  Chinese.  Here  the 
principle  of  equipoise  is  well  illustrated.  Any 
trouble  that  an  energetic  man  might  cause  is  certain 
to  be  promptly  checked  before  the  question  has  got 
beyond  the  four  walls  of  the  Yamen  concerned 
under  the  system  in  force;  for  by  pairing  officials 


Outside  a Yamen. 


A Tartar  Tower  at  Peking. 


\^Face  page  218,  Vol.  I. 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  2ig 


cleverly,  the  well-known  propensities  of  each  are  so 
hedged  round  that  all  danger  of  inconvenient  action 
is  removed. 

But  in  addition  there  is  another  safeguard.  The 
obnoxious  Court  of  Censors,  a species  of  degenerate 
Star  Chamber,  with  two  Presidents  (Manchu  and 
Chinese)  directing  it,  and  with  a host  of  minor 
members  scattered  over  the  Empire,  has  the  power  of 
denouncing  everybody  in  the  country,  and  even  of 
directly  criticising  all  the  actions  of  the  sovereign.  In 
these  degenerate  times,  unless  subsidies  are  regularly 
paid  to  the  whole  Court  of  Censors,  both  metropolitan 
and  provincial  officials  have  an  unhappy  time  of  it 
and  are  constantly  impeached.  Almost  ironically, 
the  custom  has  grown  up  of  making  Viceroys  and 
Governors  ex-officio  members  of  the  Censorate ; 
and  these  latter  can  repay  in  full  any  inconveniences 
placed  on  them  by  over-zealous  Peking  Board 
officials,  by  denouncing  those  officials  directly  to  the 
Throne  as  avaricious  and  incompetent. 

The  theory  and  practice  of  the  Central  Govern- 
ment should  now  be  clear.  First  there  is  a nomi- 
nally all-powerful  Emperor,  the  supreme  dispenser  of 
earthly  things,  who  in  reality  is  so  hedged  round 
by  etiquette,  custom,  precedents,  and  the  bondage 
of  centuries  of  red  tape  (which  the  Manchus  were 
willing  to  tie  about  themselves  in  return  for  the 
position  they  gained)  that  the  occupant  of  the 
Dragon  Throne  is  in  ordinary  times  little  more  than 
a mere  figure-head.  Second,  there  are  two  councils 
which  are  granted  audiences  at  the  uncongenial 


220  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


hours  of  four  and  five  in  the  morning.  These  con- 
sult the  Throne  on  questions  of  the  day,  and  to 
their  documents  are  affixed  slips  bearing  the 
marks  of  the  Vermilion  Pencil  — which,  thus 
adorned,  duly  become  Imperial  Edicts  or  Rescripts. 
Third,  there  are  the  seven  Boards  each  concerned  with 
its  own  business,  which  give  effect  to  the  Decrees 
of  the  Throne,  or  as  much  of  them  as  may  have 
been  duly  understood  to  be  necessary.  Fourth 
stands  the  Censorate,  censoring  those  acts  which 
are  unacceptable  because  no  bribe  has  been  paid, 
and  clogging  the  machinery  in  the  manner  that 
custom  has  long  ago  sanctioned ; and  finally  fifth, 
sixth,  and  even  seventh  and  eighth  and  possibly 
ninth  and  tenth,  are  a host  of  minor  Ministries  and 
Yamens  which  are  too  numerous  to  deserve  men- 
tion. These  regulate  such  things  as  the  conduct 
of  the  Mongolian  nomads,  the  designs  to  be  placed 
on  silk  garments  woven  at  the  Imperial  looms  to 
grace  Imperial  backs,  and  the  size  of  the  cortege 
which  must  attend  the  funeral  of  Imperial  relatives. 

In  the  eighteen  provinces  it  is  much  the  same 
thing.  At  the  head  of  provincial  administrations 
stand  the  Viceroys,  who  are  more  properly  called 
Governors- General,  and  whose  office,  instituted  as 
late  as  the  sixteenth  century  during  the  time  of  the 
last  Chinese  dynasty,  the  Mings,  was  originally  a 
semi-military  one,  designed  to  check  the  ambition 
and  power  of  provincial  Governors  by  pairing  them 
under  Viceroys. 

Of  such  Viceroys  there  are  now  eight,  for  al- 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  221 


though  the  majority  exercise  authority  over  two 
linked  provinces,  three  provinces,  for  special  rea- 
sons, have  independent  Governors  and  no  Viceroys 
over  them  (Shantung,  Honan,  and  Shansi);  whilst 
in  one  case  three  provinces  are  placed  under  one 
viceroyalty  (that  of  Nanking),  and  in  two  other 
cases  single  provinces  are  governed  directly  by  a 
Viceroy  placed  over  each  (the  provinces  of  Chihli 
and  Szechuan).  It  is  unnecessary  and  quite  out  of 
place  to  explain  how  these  various  customs  have 
grown  up;  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  Viceroy  is 
simply  an  extra  check  on  the  provincial  administra- 
tion, and  he  has  only  been  placed  where  it  has  been 
considered  absolutely  necessary. 

Next  in  rank  to  the  Viceroys  come  the 
Governors.  There  are  sixteen  of  these  high  officials, 
each  ruling  over  a province  which  may  contain 
from  ten  to  forty  million  inhabitants;  the  two  inde- 
pendent provinces  of  Chihli  and  Szechuan  having 
independent  Viceroys,  not  needing  the  appointment 
of  Governors.  Below  the  Governor  stand  the  Pro- 
vincial Treasurer,  the  Provincial  Judge,  the  Salt 
Comptroller,  and  the  Grain  Intendant,  who  together 
constitute  a committee  of  provincial  administration 
at  every  provincial  capital.  And  finally  below 
these  men  are  Taotai  or  Intendants  of  Circuit,  who 
possess  jurisdiction  over  a number  of  linked  prefect- 
ures ; and  then  Prefects,  sub-Prefects,  department 
and  district  magistrates,  with  hosts  of  petty  officials 
beneath  them,  ending  only  in  the  ti-pao  or  village 
headmen.  Thus  everyone  from  the  highest  to  the 


222  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


lowest  is  linked  together  in  the  most  minute  and 
careful  fashion. 

On  paper,  therefore,  the  authority  of  the  Throne, 
duly  detailed  in  countless  Dynastic  Institutes,  Stat- 
utes and  Rescripts,  percolates  slowly  but  surely 
from  the  Son  of  Heaven  to  the  Councils  of  the 

Empire ; from  these  to  the  great  Boards ; then 

direct  to  the  Viceroys  and  Governors,  who  cir- 

culate orders  from  the  provincial  capitals  to  the 
circuits;  while  these  in  turn  pass  them  on  to  the 

Prefects,  who  inform  the  department  and  district 
magistrates;  and  these  again  placard  their  districts, 
until,  finally,  gaping  crowds  of  country  bumpkins 
and  town  loafers  listen  to  someone  who  is  literate  and 
kind  enough  to  read  out  what  has  been  decreed, 
and  then  stand  wondering  why  such  orders  were 
issued,  since  they  are  all  a matter  of  form.  It  is 
all  very  interesting,  but  reminds  one  of  the 
fable  of  the  dog  who  worried  the  cat  who  killed  the 

rat  that  lived  in  the  house  that  Jack  built  — as  will 

presently  be  shown. 

The  Throne,  proud  in  the  possession  of  its  prero- 
gative and  knowing  the  history  of  the  Empire  but 
too  well,  although  it  was  pleased  to  accept  this 
structure  erected  by  Chinese  society  in  its  complete 
isolation  during  the  course  of  ages,  has  never  made 
the  mistake  of  forgetting  that  it,  the  Throne,  is 
Manchu  and  not  Chinese.  . When  the  victorious 

Manchu  armies  swept  over  China,  and  by  com- 

pletely crushing  the  Ming  adherents  cemented  the 
foundations  of  their  own  rule,  they  planted  Tartar 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  223 


garrisons  at  a number  of  strategic  points  throughout 
the  Empire  in  provinces  that  had  remained  recalci- 
trant ; and  they  also  made  it  clear  that  although 
they  were  quite  willing  to  accept  all  Chinese 
customs  and  systems  in  force,  Manchus  were  Man- 
chus  and  Chinese  were  but  Chinamen.  Thus  all 
hereditary  ranks  and  titles  instituted  under  previous 
dynasties  were  summarily  swept  away,  and  the 
Manchu  Princes  and  nobles,  the  Yellow-girdled 
and  Red-girdled  ones,  the  Iron-capped  Princes  and 
Commandants  of  the  Eight  Banners,  took  their 
places  surrounded  by  a brilliant  court  of  nobles 
belonging  to  this  hereditary  Imperial  nobility.  The 
Manchu  Throne  formed  a new  imperium  in  imperio, 
plain  to  the  eyes  of  the  observant  but  only  dimly 
understood  by  the  great  masses  of  Chinese  people, 
who,  being  still  governed  by  their  own  officials  after 
their  own  manner,  and  with  the  highest  civil  offices 
still  open  to  all  who  could  tread  the  difficult  roads 
leading  to  literary  success,  were  quite  content  to  be- 
lieve that  the  Son  of  Heaven  and  his  Court 
belonged  to  a different  world.  Thus  to  the  old 
government  by  equipoise  was  added  a new  feature 
— an  Emperor  and  a Court  party  who  were  forced 
to  maintain  their  ascendency  by  the  most  careful 
chess-playing. 

In  the  beginning  there  was,  of  course,  not  so 
much  need  for  adroitness,  at  least  during  the  reign 
of  four  sovereigns;  for  Shun  Chih,  K’ang-hai,  Yung 
Cheng,  and  Chffen  Lung  were  not  only  virile 
Emperors,  but  their  behests  were  backed  by  vigor- 


224  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


ous  Manchu  armies,  the  famous  Eight  Banners,  a 
portion  of  whose  forces  were  employed  again  and 
again  in  warfare  in  Mongolia,  in  Turkestan,  and  as 
far  south  as  Burma.  With  the  abdication  of  the 
really  great  and  large-minded  Emperor  Ch’ien  Lung 
in  1796,  the  position  of  the  Manchus  underwent  a 
serious  change  for  the  worse.  In  the  persons  of  the 
five  sovereigns  who  have  reigned  since  that  time,  the 
Emperors  Chia  Ch’ing,  Tao-kuang,  Hsien  Feng, 
•Tung  Chih,  and  Kuang  Hsu,  there  are  no  longer  any 
traces  of  the  old  Manchu  spirit  which  knew  no  fear. 
As  early  as  the  reign  of  Yung  Cheng  — the  third 
Manchu  to  sit  on  the  Dragon  Throne  — the  curious 
weakening  which  seems  inherent  in  dynasties  ruling 
over  China  was  noticeable;  but  the  sixty  years’ 
reign  of  Ch’ien  Lung  was  sufficient  to  rehabilitate 
the  character  of  the  Manchu  sovereigns  and  to 
postpone  the  inevitable  until  the  nineteenth  century. 

Up  to  this  time  foreign  relations  had  continued  on 
much  the  same  footing  as  they  had  been  for  count- 
less centuries  in  the  past.  The  real  foreign 
relations  of  China  had  been  always  those  dealing 
with  neighbouring  tributary  nations  such  as  Korea, 
the  great  Mongol  principalities,  the  princedoms  of 
Central  Asia,  Burma,  and  Cochin  China,  and  had 
been  in  no  way  connected  with  the  new  question, 
the  question  of  the  European  States.  It  is  true  that 
the  Portuguese  had  arrived  long  before  in  Canton 
and  Macao ; and  that  English  and  other  strange 
traders  following  in  their  wake  had  sailed  to  South 
China  in  their  brigs  and  schooners;  but  the  manner 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  225 


in  which  Koxinga,  the  semi-piratical  hero,  had 
succeeded  in  expelling  the  Dutch  from  Formosa 
greatly  impressed  the  Imperial  imagination,  and 
gave  rise  to  the  supposition  that  this  new  over-sea 
trading  from  Europe  was  an  ephemeral^  activity 
susceptible  of  being  crushed,  and  was  therefore 
hardly  worthy  of  serious  consideration. 

The  weakening  of  the  Manchus  continued  apace, 
until,  in  the  first  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
only  the  lustre  of  the  seventeenth-century  conquest 
of  China  and  the  supposed  qualities  and  superiority 
of  their  Manchu  soldiery  — things  which  the  curious 
cast  of  the  Chinaman’s  mind  was  content  to  accept 
as  inevitable  and  coming  from  heaven  — prevented 
any  upsetting  of  the  Throne. 

When  the  disillusion  finally  came,  it  took  thirty 
years  (say  from  1830  until  i860),  and  all  the  various 
wars  and  expeditions  which  went  on  from  the  Canton 
factory  days  until  the  burning  of  the  Summer  Palace 
in  i860,  to  convince  the  Throne  that  the  old  state 
of  affairs  had  passed  away;  that  the  playing  with 
the  so-called  tributary  States  could  no  longer  be 
considered  a serious  business;  and  that  Europe  was 
assuming  a very  peculiar  and  dangerous  character. 
The  Court,  forced  to  accept  the  inevitable,  did  not 
do  so  with  much  grace,  but  the  efforts  of  those 
really  great  men,  the  Grand  Secretary  Wen-hsiang 
and  the  Imperial  Prince  Kung,  in  whose  hands,  after 
i860,  the  new-born  foreign  relations  were  largely 
placed,  succeeded  in  masking  the  real  attitude  of 
‘ the  Throne  and  persuading  both  Chinese  and 


VOL.  I — Q 


226  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


Europeans  that  things  were  not  what  they  had 
really  become  long  before  the  opening  of  Peking. 
Moreover,  at  that  time  there  was  the  terrible  Taiping 
rebellion,  which,  after  blazing  fiercely  for  fifteen 
years,  was  not  finally  extinguished  until  1865,  and 
which  left  much  of  the  country  exhausted  and  gasp- 
ing, and  so  confused  things  that  general  outlines 
could  not  be  very  clear.  Had  the  Manchus  still 
been  great,  they  might  have  in  these  days  taken 
measures  which  would  have  spared  them  the  troubles 
of  the  last  decade.  ^ 

The  years  which  followed  these  things  were 
necessarily  quiet,  since  peace  at  any  price  was  re- 
quired to  heal  the  wounds.  But  as  year  succeeded 
year,  and  the  memory  of  bitter  days  faded  away  — 
the  flight  of  the  Manchu  Court  to  Jehol  to  escape 
the  foreign  barbarians  who  were  knocking  at 
Peking’s  gates,  the  impotent  rage  at  the  sack  and 
burning  of  the  magnificent  Summer  Palace,  both  of 
which  things  were  considered  as  personal  insults  to 
the  Manchu  Throne  and  not  as  a chastisement 
of  China  and  the  Chinese  Government  — the  old 
feelings  re-asserted  themselves.  The  common 
people,  taking  their  cue  as  they  invariably  do  from 
the  attitude  of  the  Government  and  officials,  who  in 
turn  take  it  from  the  Court,  began  the  lamentable 
series  of  petty  riots  against  foreigners  and  mis- 
sionaries which  disfigure  the  records  of  the  past 
three  or  four  decades.  Then  came  the  Tonkin  war 
with  the  French,  ending  in  disaster,  and  ten  years 
later  the  Japanese  war  for  Korea  — each  giving  a 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  227 


fresh  shock  to  Manchu  pride.  For  after  the  French 
war  there  had  been  some  real  efforts  to  re-arm  and 
re-invigorate,  and  much  buying  of  Krupp  cannon 
and  Mauser  and  other  rifles,  accompanied  by  so- 
called  foreign  drill.  But  Japan  with  her  compact 
little  army  and  navy  had  clearly  shown  that  some- 
thing else  was  necessary,  and  that  unless  the 
re-invigorating  began  at  the  very  fountain-head,  the 
Court,  it  all  boded  no  good  for  China’s  future. 
The  vehemence  with  which  that  strange  combination, 
the  famous  triplicate  of  1895,  pushed  its  claims  for 
reward  for  service  rendered  after  the  Chino- Japanese 
war,  was  responsible  for  many  leases  of  Chinese 
territory;  and  thus,  entirely  owing  to  the  laxity  of 
the  Manchus  and  their  unwillingness  to  recognise 
once  and  for  all  the  necessity  for  root  and  branch 
reform,  a new  set  of  factors  became  all-powerful. 

It  was  while  all  these  things  were  stinging  and 
smarting,  while  the  old  pomp  and  glory  of  the 
Manchu  Court  were  almost  entirely  departed,  and 
the  military  hold  of  the  Manchus  over  the  Chinese 
people  was  non-existent,  that,  in  1900,  the  Boxers,  who 
had  been  in  existence  in  one  form  or  another  for 
many  years,  began  to  push  their  insane  propaganda. 
Driven  West  and  North  from  the  bellicose  province 
of  Shantung,  because  on  the  sea-board  there  were 
British  Weihaiwei  and  German  Kiaochow,  and,  at 
the  provincial  capital,  resolute  Governor  Yuan  Shih- 
kai  with  8,000  really  good  troops  who  did  not  believe 
in  Boxer  assertions,  the  revolutionists  or  rebels 
pushed  into  the  metropolitan  province  of  Chihli. 


228  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


What  were  these  men  primarily  — anti-foreign  or 
anti-Manchu  ? They  were  both,  and  were  simply 
an  expression  of  the  irritation,  discontent,  and 
poverty  which  the  maladministration  of  the  country 
had  produced,  and  which  had  been  growing  steadily 
decade  after  decade,  until  the  old  equipoise  was  in 
danger  of  disappearing  entirely. 

The  Manchus,  with  an  instinct  developed  to  the 
highest  degree  by  the  decadence  of  their  rule, 
understood  immediately  that  something  would  have 
to  be  done  quickly,  no  matter  what  the  consequences 
entailed.  Already,  in  1898,  the  old  Empress  Dowager 
had  finally  shown  that  in  spite  of  the  lopping-ofif  of 
the  Empire,  the  ignominious  defeats,  the  unanswer- 
able insults,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Court  had 
sunk  from  its  former  proud  position,  she  was 
prepared  to  die  in  the  last  trench  of  Chinese  con- 
servatism sooner  than  see  reform  and  innovation 
sweep  away  the  old  and  disturb  the  whole  balance 
of  things.  The  famous  coup  d^etat  of  that  year, 
accompanied  by  the  annulling  of  the  pitiable  efforts 
of  the  Emperor  to  abolish  useless  Yamens,  had 
shown  that  clearly  enough;  and  the  nomination  of 
the  second  son  of  Prince  Tuan,  one  of  the  haughtiest 
of  the  Manchu  nobles,  as  Ta-A-Ko,  or  heir- 
apparent,  give  an  additional  proof.  The  Manchus, 
being  unable  or  unwilling  to  reconstruct  entirely, 
sought  to  arrest  the  decay  by  becoming  more  con- 
servative than  the  Chinese.  Never  was  there  such 
a policy. 

The  agents  of  this  Prince  Tuan  — now  personally 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  229 


interested  in  the  fate  of  the  Throne  since  his  son  was 
the  heir  — sent  numbers  of  emissaries  to  the  Boxers, 
and  showed  the  Luan  T^uan  yeh^  or  Boxer  chiefs, 
sitting  in  communion  with  the  spirits,  that  it  would 
pay  better  to  act  with  the  Throne  against  a common 
enemy  than  attempt  the  impossible  — namely,  the 
driving  out  of  the  Manchus  and  the  destruction  of 
the  European.  It  was  not  long,  therefore,  before 
the  banners  of  the  Boxers  displayed  the  four  signifi- 
cant characters  Pao  Ching  mien  yang  — Support 
the  Manchu  dynasty,  and  destroy  the  foreigner  and 
all  his  works.  For  the  enmity  of  the  Boxers  was 
really  directed  against  the  European,  not  because  he 
was  a European,  but  because  he  was  an  apostle  of 
the  new  and  a destroyer  of  the  old,  and  therefore  a 
danger  to  the  Chinese  social  structure.  The  Euro- 
pean was  never  more  than  a Ta  Mao-tzu,  or  unshaven 
one  of  the  first  class,  whilst  native  converts  were 
placed  in  the  second  class  of  this  new  breed  of  men, 
and  all  other  Chinese,  no  matter  of  what  class  or 
rank,  business  or  occupation,  became  equally  well 
known  in  the  brief  days  of  Boxerism  under  the  style 
of  San  Mao-tzu,  or  third-class  outsiders.  The  idea 
was  to  drive  or  frighten  away  all  such  people,  and 
this  plan  so  exactly  suited  the  Manchus  that  it  is 
small  wonder  they  threw  in  their  lot  with  this 
nationalist  party.  It  appeared  that  the  European, 
after  annoying  China  acutely  for  more  than  half  a 
century,  had  at  length  become  the  necessary  pivot 
on  which  something  resembling  the  old  equipoise 
might  be  re-established. 


230  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


The  grand  idea  of  this  Boxer  movement  was  an 
audacious  one,  for,  had  it  been  delayed,  as  was  the 
original  intention,  until  the  autumn  of  1900,  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  the  enormous  masses  of  men 
available  by  that  time  would  have  swept  the  Euro- 
pean out  of  existence  in  North  China  and  necessitated 
his  temporary  retreat  from  every  other  part  of  the 
Empire.  The  fates  were  kind,  however,  and  the 

Court,  forced  by  events  to  throw  in  its  lot  with  the 
Boxers  so  as  to  regain  its  hold  on  the  people,  was 
soon  in  ignominious  flight  down  the  Hsianfu  road, 
and  for  a year  and  a half  it  suffered  an  agony  of 
mind  in  exile  which  is  without  precedent  in  the 
annals  of  Manchu  history.  For  the  Court  party 
wtII  understood  that  they  had  in  reality  both  lost 
their  hold  over  the  nation  they  professed  to  govern, 
and  over  the  question  of  foreign  relations,  and  that 
they  had  only  recovered  something  of  the  first 
temporarily  by  placing  the  second  in  a still  more 
unsatisfactory  position  than  had  ever  been  the  case 
before.  The  crisis  was  an  acute  and  terrible  one  for 
them. 

At  last,  after  the  signature  of  the  final  peace 
protocol  in  September,  1901,  the  Chinese  plenipo- 
tentiaries repeatedly  telegraphed  that  the  Court  was 
safe,  that  it  must  return  without  delay  or  something 
else  might  happen ; and  therefore,  full  of  uncer- 
tainty and  doubt,  and  sore  alike  in  body  and  mind, 
behold  the  Manchu  Court  lumbering  back  into  the 
capital  after  an  absence  of  two  years  and  gazing 
awe-struck  at  all  that  had  taken  place  in  its  absence. 


Inside  the  Palace. 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  231 


For  the  Peace  Protocol  had  dealt  no  gentle  blows  to 
its  nobles  and  princes.  Listen  to  a few  clauses 
which  deal  with  Boxer  leaders. 

‘‘Tsai  Yi,  Prince  Tuan,  and  Tsai  Lan^,  Duke 
Fu-ku,  have  been  condemned  at  the  autumn  assizes, 
and  it  is  further  determined  that  if  the  Emperor 
thinks  their  lives  should  be  spared  they  shall  be 
banished  to  Turkestan  and  there  imprisoned  for  life 
with  no  possibility  that  the  punishment  shall  be  ever 
commuted. 

“Tsai  Hsun,  Prince  Chuang,  Yien  Nien,  President 
of  the  Censorship,  and  Chao  Shu-Ch’iao,  President 
of  the  Board  of  Punishments,  shall  be  condemned 
to  commit  suicide. 

“Yu  Hsien,  Governor  of  Shansi,  Ch’i  Hsiu, 
President  of  the  Board  of  Ceremonies,  Hsu  Cheng-yi, 
formerly  Director  in  the  Board  of  Punishments,  shall 
be  condemned  to  death. 

“Degradation  after  death  has  been  pronounced 
against  Kang  Yi,  assistant  Member  of  the  Grand 
Secretariat  and  President  of  the  Board  of  Civil 
Office,  Hsu  Tung,  Member  of  the  Grand  Secre- 
tariat, and  Li  Ping  Heng,  formerly  Governor- 
General  of  Szechuan. 

“The  General  of  Kansu,  Tung  Fu-hsiang,  has 
been  deprived  of  his  office  until  it  shall  be  decided 
what  final  punishment  shall  be  pronounced  against 
him.’’  (Perpetual  banishment  was  afterwards 
ordered.) 

In  this  way  three  Manchu  Imperial  Princes 
were  sentenced  to  death ; four  of  the  highest 


232  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


Manchu  officials  suffered  a like  fate;  two  Chinese 
Governors  had  their  sentences  and  degradation 
confirmed;  and-  all  the  other  supporters  of  the 
Manchus,  including  Tung  Fu-hsiang  and  his 
Mohammedan  Generals  from  Kansu,  were  most 
summarily  dealt  with. 

It  was,  therefore,  a much  chastened  and  fearful 
Court  that  installed  itself  once  more  within  the  pink 
walls  of  the  Forbidden  City;  a chastened  and  fear- 
ful Court  controlled  absolutely  by  the  only  person  of 
character  in  the  Palace,  the  old  Empress  Dowager, 
who,  although  seventy  years  of  age,  was  as  vigorous 
as  ever.  Time  went  by  slowly  and  dismally  enough, 
and  Edicts  streamed  out  — those  blank  Edicts  which 
mean  nothing,  since  attention  is  paid  to  the  spirit 
which  inspires  and  not  the  letter  which  is  written. 
Almost  mechanically  the  people  and  officials  were 
told  to  do  everything  proper,  from  the  unbinding  of 
the  women’s  feet,  which  the  foreigner  seems  to  set 
much  store  on,  to  the  establishment  of  every  kind  of 
the  “New  Learning”  school,  which  would  teach  young 
China  how  to  behave  to  these  men  from  abroad. 
Everything  was  to  be  taught;  the  temples  were  to 
be  taken,  if  necessary,  to  provide  places  where  this 
new  learning  might  be  inculcated ; every  district 
must  have  its  school.  So  said  the  Edicts  and  nobody 
believed  them.  It  was  impossible  that  the  teaching 
of  the  excellent  Yao  and  Shun,  dating  from 
B.c.  2000,  should  be  so  lightly  abandoned  in 
favour  of  the  new;  and  all  knew  that  the  Edicts 
were  quite  perfunctory  instruments. 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  233 


Thus  all  1902  spent  itself,  and  a portion  of  1903, 
and  then  the  Manchurian  affair  began,  and  fortu- 
nately there  was  but  little  time  for  anything  else.  It 
was  plain  that  war  was  coming  on,  that  uncom- 
fortable thing  war,  and  that  until  the  war  was 
ended  everything  might  be  shelved  without  anyone 
noticing  it. 

So  in  this  way  the  Manchu  Court  has  remained 
much  as  it  was  before,  since  it  is  the  Empress 
Dowager  — and  the  Empress  Dowager  alone  — who 
rules  it,  and  through  it  the  whole  of  the 
Empire  of  China.  The  old  autocrat  has  grown 
too  old  for  changes,  and  she  will  have  none  of  them; 
and,  as  before,  her  confidant  and  adviser  is  a eunuch, 
the  old  eunuch  Li  Lien-Ying,  who  in  addition  to  all 
his  other  vices  has  now  become  an  inveterate  opium- 
smoker  — which  is  the  beginning  of  the  end  for  those 
who  do  not  toil  the  effects  off  by  hard  exercise,  as 
do  all  men  of  the  coolie  classes,  who  remain 
unharmed  by  its  use. 

One  thing  alone  is  being  done,  a thing  which, 
although  it  smacks  of  the  new,  tends  to  strengthen 
the  old.  China  is  arming  slowly,  steadily,  and 
mechanically.  China  is  drilling,  carefully,  far-seeingly, 
and  patiently,  with  an  entirely  new  spirit.  You 
have  but  to  study  the  new  Lien  Ping  Ch^u^  or  Council 
for  Army  Reform,  to  understand  that.  For  whereas 
the  Shang-pu,  or  the  new  Board  of  Commerce,  is 
merely  an  intruder  which  is  not  wanted,  the  Council 
for  Army  Reform  is  rapidly  becoming  a very  great 
factor,  as  will  presently  be  shown,  and  is  doing  good 


234  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  ch. 


if  dangerous  work.  China  is  arming;  that  is  the  only 
thing  that  can  be  clearly  discerned  in  the  Govern- 
ment’s actions.  The  Manchus,  having  drained  to 
the  dregs  a bitter  cup,  are  preparing  against 
some  future  day  by  fashioning  themselves  new 
weapons;  but  what  that  day  is  to  be,  no  mortal 
man  knows. 

Meanwhile  the  Empress  Dowager  has  celebrated 
her  seventieth  birthday  and  is  very  busy  over  the 
unhealthy  condition  of  her  chief  eunuch,  who  smokes 
too  much  opium.  A good  many  of  her  young 
Manchu  Court  ladies  are  learning  new-fangled 
things,  such  as  knitting ; the  Shanghai  vernacular 
papers  are  slipping  into  the  Palace  in  greater 
numbers,  and  are  making  many  enemies  by  their 
rude  utterances  on  the  present  state  of  affairs ; 
everybody  is  eating  and  sleeping  much  as  before  the 
keng-tsu  nien,  fatal  1900,  and  the  memory  is  even 
fading  a little,  as  do  all  memories.  The  Boards  and 
provincial  authorities  are  functioning  the  same  as 
ever;  the  Chinese  Government  works  in  its  wooden 
fashion,  whilst  the  Manchu  Court  sleeps  and  the 
four  hundred  million  till  and  sow.  But  just  outside 
the  Palace  lies  that  grim  Legation  quarter,  so 
insolent  a fortress.  Over  the  pink  walls  the 
Marconi  masts  can  be  distinctly  seen;  and  officials 
travelling  up  from  the  provinces  begin  to  see  that 
their  lot  is  irrevocably  thrown  in  with  the  Manchus. 

So  the  international  discord  works  on  in  each  of 
the  little  Peking  Legations,  all  of  which  try  to  trip 
one  another  up  privately,  and  swear  openly  that  the 


IX  CHINESE  GOVERNMENT  AND  MANCHU  COURT  235 


sole  way  of  effecting  anything  is  by  working  inter- 
nationally, in  close  concert  with  one  another,  and 
keeping  the  Chinese  down,  very  far  down ! Work  on 
in  this  way,  if  you  please;  the  day  is  fast  approach- 
ing when  a reckoning  will  be  called  for,  and  some 
may  find  a Ghetto  does  not  tend  to  make  men. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA  AND  THEIR  FUTURE 

If  the  Taipings  did  no  other  service  for  the  cause 
of  progress  and  advancement  in  China,  they  may  be 
congratulated  on  one  thing  — they  led  directly  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Foreign  Customs  and  the 
Subsidiary  Services,  which  have  already  played  a 
not  inconsiderable  part  in  the  recent  history  of 
China,  and  which  may  play  a still  greater  one  in  the 
near  future. 

It  was  as  early  as  1853,  or  more  than  half  a 
century  ago,  that  the  Taiping  rebels  captured  the 
native  city  of  Shanghai  and  held  it  for  many  months 
against  the  repeated  efforts  of  the  Imperialists,  as 
yet  unstrengthened  by  European-led  ever  victorious 
armies.  The  Imperialists,  incensed  at  their  constant 
failures,  began  to  adopt  a threatening  attitude 
towards  the  foreign  settlements  at  Shanghai,  then 
but  very  small  communities,  alleging  that  these 
European  cantonments  acted  as  buffers  between  the 
Rebels  and  the  Imperialists,  and  that  the  Rebels 
were  even  being  secretly  encouraged.  In  1854,  the 
outlook  being  threatening,  a volunteer  force  was 

236 


CH.  X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


237 


formed  by  the  European  residents,  and  in  conjunction 
with  a handful  of  sailors  from  some  men-of-war 
lying  in  the  river  they  attacked  and  drove  away  the 
Imperialists,  who  were  encamped,  to  the  number  of 
10,000,  in  dangerous  proximity  to  the  European 
lines,  and  were  meditating  a descent. 

The  battle  of  Muddy  Flat,  as  it  was  named,  cost 
the  foreign  forces  but  three  men  killed  and  ten 
wounded,  and  completed  the  disorganisation  of  the 
native  government  of  Shanghai.  The  native 
authorities  were  now  powerless  to  collect  the 
Customs  dues  and  duties,  which  for  a short  time 
were  not  paid;  and  it  was  in  consequence  agreed  in 
July,  1854,  between  the  port  Taotai  and  the  three 
Consuls  (British,  American,  and  French)  that  they 
should  be  collected  under  foreign  control.  This  was 
found  to  work  so  much  to  the  advantage  of  the 
Chinese  Government  that  the  system  was  extended 
subsequently,  under  the  Treaties  of  Tientsien,  to  all 
the  open  ports  of  China.  And  in  this  curious 
fashion  the  Foreign  Customs,  destined  to  become  a 
power,  was  born  to  the  Chinese  world  of  strife. 

All  things  considered,  it  was  not  exactly  an  un- 
happy birth,  for  the  Chinese,  ever  anxious  to  welcome 
anything  that  does  away  with  doubtful  questions, 
found  that  the  embryo  Customs  Service,  now  charged 
with  duty  collection  and  the  supervision  of  what  was 
still  an  almost  purely  foreign  trade  {i.e.  a trade 
handled  by  white  men  who  were  breaking  into  China 
through  the  open  ports),  knew  how  to  deal  with 
European  merchantdom,  and  to  settle  rapidly  the 


238 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAP. 


disputes  which  had  been  so  frequent  in  the  past  and 
which  had  led  so  often  to  armed  collisions.  In  the 
beginning,  however,  it  was  not  considered  very- 
honourable  or  very  worthy  to  serve  the  native 
Government  in  this  way,  for  the  successive  shocks 
brought  about  by  the  bigotry  and  intolerance  of 
Chinese  officials  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  had  made  the  European  merchant  of  the 
post-Canton  factory  days  suppose  that  there  was  no 
possible  good  in  the  Chinaman,  and  that  he  and  his 
kind  merited  but  scant  consideration.  And  in 
addition,  the  institution  of  a clean  service  with  a 
fixed  tariff  killed  the  irregular  profits  on  which  the 
foreign  merchant  was  battening ; for  no  scruples 
had  been  felt  at  taking  the  Chinaman  at  his  own 
valuation  and  bargaining  for  the  duties  which  had 
to  be  paid  in  each  case  — thus  making  legitimate 
trading  almost  impossible. 

In  the  usual  irregular  fashion  of  the  Far  East,  the 
new  service,  born  at  Shanghai,  took  some  time  to 
become  an  established  fact.  The  first  arrangement 
was  that  the  three  Consuls  at  Shanghai  should  each 
nominate  an  inspector,  and  that  these  would  take 
charge  together  of  the  new  Department.  But  soon, 
as  no  one  excepting  the  English  inspector,  Mr. 
Wade,  knew  any  Chinese,  or  had  any  knowledge  of 
the  requirements  of  Chinese  trade,  the  entire 
organisation  was  placed  in  his  hands.  In  1855,  the 
first  inspector  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Horatio  Lay, 
who  became  the  first  Inspector-General,  and  the 
next  five  years  were  occupied  in  extending  the  new 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


239 


system  to  the  other  open  ports  of  China.  The  close 
of  the  Arrow  war  justified  the  opening  of  a 
Custom  House  at  Canton,  and  in  1859  a young 
man,  named  Mr.  Hart,  resigned  the  British  Con- 
sular Service  and  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Allied 
Commissioners  to  become  the  Canton  Deputy- 
Commissioner. 

In  1861,  after  the  Tientsien  Treaties  had  come  into 
force,  Mr.  Lay,  the  Inspector- General,  was  granted 
leave  of  absence  by  the  Peking  authorities  in  order 
that  he  might  visit  England  to  put  into  operation  a 
scheme  which  had  become  a fixed  idea  with  him, 
and  which  eventually  wrecked  his  whole  career. 
As  early  as  1856  he  had  proposed  to  the  Peking 
authorities  that  China  should  purchase  a complete 
fleet  of  strongly  armed  revenue  cruisers  which, 
attached  to  the  Customs  Service,  would  be  able  at 
once  to  put  down  piracy  — the  curse  of  the  China 
coasts  — and  also  to  act  as  a training-school  for  a 
modern  Chinese  navy,  thus  removing  all  dangers  of 
European  complications.  In  pursuance  of  his  own 
ideas  the  Inspector- General  bought  eight  gunboats 
of  different  tonnage,  several  of  them  being  powerful 
vessels,  and  engaged,  with  the  consent  of  the  British 
Government,  Captain  Sherard  Osborne,  R.N.,  and 
a number  of  other  naval  officers  to  command  the 
fleet.  Early  in  1863  the  fleet  arrived  in  Chinese 
waters  under  the  command  of  Captain  Osborne,  who 
was  given  admiral’s  rank,  only  to  find  that  both  the 
provincial  and  central  authorities  were  utterly  un- 
prepared to  pay  either  the  first  cost  of  these  ships  or 


240 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAF. 


to  find  the  necessary  funds  for  the  portage  bills  and 
current  expenses.  Nor  did  the  British  commander 
agree  to  the  proposal  that  his  fleet  should  be  split 
up  and  put  under  the  authority  of  the  provincial 
authorities.  It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  further  on 
the  details  of  this  now  forgotten  cause  celehre.  The 
Lay-Osborne  flotilla  lay  rotting  in  Chinese  harbours 
whilst  a fierce  paper  warfare  raged  between  the 
chief  of  the  Customs,  the  British  Minister  at  Peking, 
and  the  Peking  Government ; and  in  the  end  the 
British  Government  had  to  put  its  hand  in  its  pocket, 
send  all  the  officers  and  crews  home,  and  order  the  fleet 
to  be  sold,  thus  refunding  to  the  Chinese  mandarin- 
ate  a great  portion  of  the  million  sterling  which  the 
whole  undertaking  had  cost.  Mr.  Lay  was  practically 
dismissed,  and  young  Mr.  Hart,  only  twenty-eight 
years  of  age,  received  the  rich  appointment  of 
Inspector-General  with  a salary  of  £S,ooo  a year, 
and  a definite  agreement  from  Prince  Kung,  head  of 
the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  under  which  the  Inspectorate- 
General  was  established  in  Peking  and  dealt  directly 
with  the  central  Government.  The  Lay-Osborne 
affair  was  the  first  of  a number  of  attempts  which 
have  been  made  to  extend  the  influence  of  the 
Customs  Service,  the  majority  of  which  have  been 
failures. 

In  the  same  year  the  head  offices  were  moved 
from  Shanghai  to  Peking,  and  in  a very  few  months 
a complete  re-organisation  had  taken  place.  The 
Customs  Service,  growing  rapidly  as  successive 
treaties  threw  open  more  and  more  ports  to 


A Peking  Street,  seen  from  the  Tartar  Wall. 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


241 


foreign  trade,  soon  became  an  institution  whose 
usefulness  could  not  be  over-estimated.  Previous 
to  its  advent  the  European  merchant  had  been  in 
the  position  of  an  unauthorised  interloper,  who 
haggled  with  the  Chinese  co-hongs,  or  guilds,  and 
compounded  with  them  each  time  any  transaction 
was  made.  Now  the  foreign  merchant  was  fully 
recognised,  and  so  long  as  he  conformed  to  definite 
rules  and  regulations  his  position  was  an  enviable 
one.  The  duties  of  the  Chinese  Customs  Service 
were  therefore  clear;  for  a number  of  years  it  was 
the  official  middleman  for  foreign  trade  and  nothing 
else.  Those  were  the  days  of  the  great  staples,  when 
cargoes  of  tea,  silk,  sugar,  and  cotton  going  out  of 
the  country,  and  cotton  manufactures  and  metals 
coming  in,  formed  practically  the  entire  trade  of 
China.  In  the  ’seventies,  this  trade  gave  freight  to 
about  ten  million  tons  of  foreign  shipping  annually 
and  was  valued  at  over  ;^5o,ooo,ooo  sterling.  But 
silver  then  stood  very  high,  making  the  volume  of 
trade,  measured  in  gold  terms,  unduly  big. 

Years  passed  by  and  the  good  conditions  continued, 
and  by  the  ’nineties  the  Chinese  Service  had  reached 
its  high-water  mark.  Sir  Robert  Hart,  first  knighted 
and  then  made  a baronet  as  a reward  for  his  good 
work,  could  look  around  him  with  satisfaction. 
Foreign  Powers  vied  with  one  another  in  conferring 
on  him  distinguished  orders ; and  the  Chinese 
Government,  remembering  that  he  was  not  only 
Inspector-General  of  Chinese  Customs  but  also 
Agent- General  as  well,  sought  his  advice  more  and 

VOL.  I — R 


242 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAP, 


more.  But  events  were  in  preparation  for  the 
imposition  of  a second  burden  on  the  Customs 
Service.  After  having  been  the  official  middleman 
for  foreign  trade  for  over  thirty  years,  and  having 
seen  the  number  of  treaty  ports  rise  from  five  to 
thirty-five,  fresh  complications  and  wars  made  it 
also  a species  of  Caisse  de  la  dette.  Foreign  loans 
in  sterling  were  contracted,  and  their  service  and 
payment  guaranteed,  on  the  security  of  the  Customs 
receipts.  By  1898,  as  a result  of  the  Japanese  vrar, 
the  Chinese  debt  thus  secured  had  risen  to  over  fifty 
millions  sterling,  and  the  Chinese  Customs  receipts 
no  longer  affording  sufficient  margin  to  guarantee 
interest,  notably  on  the  ;£i  6,000,000  4^  per  cent. 
Gold  Loan  of  1898,  a number  of  Likin  collectorates 
were  placed  under  the  nominal  supervision  of  Sir 
Robert  Hart.  From  the  original  Shanghai  con- 
ception of  1854  the  Customs  Service  had  already 
travelled  far ; but  it  was  destined  to  go  even 
farther. 

In  1897  it  had  become  clear  that  the  small 
Customs  Postal  Service,  conveying  correspondence 
between  treaty  port  and  treaty  port,  must  be  ex- 
tended if  it  was  to  justify  continued  existence. 
Regulations  were  drafted,  the  Postal  Service  was  re- 
organised, and  to-day,  eight  years  since  that  re- 
organisation took  place,  there  are  one  thousand  two 
hundred  Chinese  post  offices  belonging  to  this 
Service  scattered  all  over  China,  and  including  every 
city  of  importance.  Thus,  spreading  in  many  ways, 
until,  besides  duty  collecting,  a foreign  debt-service,  a 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


243 


postal  service,  a lighthouse  service,  a preventative 
service  and  other  minor  affairs  were  added  to  its 
control,  the  present  Inspectorate- General  of  Customs 
oversees  to-day  almost  every  point  of  contact 
between  China  and  non-China. 

And  now,  having  hurriedly  treated  the  external 
aspect  of  the  question,  it  is  necessary  to  become 
more  critical  and  to  deal  in  greater  detail  with 
certain  important  affairs  which  may  be  thrust  upon 
the  attention  of  the  public  before  very  long. 

We  have  explained  the  manner  in  which  the  Customs 
Service  grew  up  more  or  less  accidentally,  until  it  had 
assumed  an  importance  never  contemplated  in  the 
first  instance.  Being  almost  entirely  the  creation  of 
Sir  Robert  Hart  (since  the  work  of  his  two  pre- 
decessors was  trivial  compared  to  his  own),  it  is 
eminently  a one-man  concern,  which,  although 
looked  upon  internationally  as  being  part  of  the 
guarantee  of  China’s  good  behaviour  in  commercial 
and  financial  matters,  is  in  Chinese  eyes  something 
very  different.  What,  then,  is  the  Chinese  con- 
ception of  this  Chinese  Customs  Service  and  its 
sub-services,  which  are  all  led  and  officered  by 
Europeans ; which  derives  its  existence  from  the 
break-down  of  Chinese  machinery ; and  which  is 
considered  an  indispensable  safeguard  for  everyone? 
Is  it  considered  part  of  the  Chinese  Civil  Service  — 
that  is,  the  native  administration  of  China?  Is  it 
hated  by  the  Chinese,  or  is  it  merely  tolerated  ? 
and  what  part  is  it  popularly  supposed  to  play  ? 
These  questions  must  be  answered  in  as  few  words 


244 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAP. 


as  possible  — but  nevertheless  quite  fully  and  ex- 
haustively. 

It  will  perhaps  have  been  understood  from  what 
has  been  already  written  that  the  central  and  the 
provincial  authorities  hardly  ever  look  upon  either 
internal  and  external,  or  even  semi-external,  matters 
in  exactly  the  same  light.  The  Central  Govern- 
ment, as  the  mouthpiece  and  machine  of  the 
Manchu  Court,  regulates  equipoise,  insures  the 
payment  of  provincial  contributions,  lightens  or 
increases  financial  loads  as  is  deemed  politic,  and 
has  but  little  in  common  with  the  provinces.  The 
conception  which  the  Central  Chinese  Government 
has  of  Sir  Robert  Hart’s  Imperial  Maritime  Customs 
and  the  kindred  services  is  therefore  an  extremely 
curious  one.  It  holds  that  the  arrangement  entered 
into  by  Prince  Kung,  President  in  the  ’sixties  of  the 
now  defunct  Tsung-li  Yamen,  was  a necessary  internal 
arrangement  and  no  more  — necessary  because  by  it 
almost  every  point  of  contact  between  Chinese 
officials  and  foreign  merchants  in  matters  com- 
mercial was,  after  years  of  strife,  removed  beyond 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  high  provincial  authorities, 
over  whom  the  Peking  Government  exercised  at 
the  best  of  times  not  so  much  supreme  authority  as 
the  power  of  checking.  And  in  addition  to  this, 
from  the  Peking  point  of  view,  the  Customs  had 
proved  its  usefulness,  because  a source  of  revenue 
amounting  finally  to  nearly  ;^4,ooo,ooo  sterling  per 
annum  had  been  made  available  for  war-indemnity 
purposes  without  having  necessitated  the  imposition 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


245 


of  fresh  taxes  on  the  provinces.  Such  taxes  must 
have  been  levied  after  the  Japanese  war  had  not 
Sir  Robert  Hart’s  creation  stood  ready  to  receive 
the  new  burden. 

This  point  of  view  is  only  that  of  the  Peking 
Government,  but  it  is  one  which  must  be  clearly 
grasped  in  order  to  understand  the  whole  matter. 
For  the  Chinese  Customs  and  the  sub-services, 
brought  into  existence  by  one  man  as  the  result  of 
his  contract  with  the  Central  Government,  are  in 
no  sense  considered  by  the  Chinese  provincial 
authorities,  high  or  low,  as  Chinese  services 
forming  part  and  parcel  of  the  Chinese  administrative 
system.  In  other  words,  although  sanctioned  and 
always  upheld  by  the  Peking  Government,  Sir  Robert 
Hart’s  Collectorate  is  in  the  eyes  of  the  provinces 
simply  a ^Tarm,”  such  as  are  often  created  to  find 
funds  in  times  of  necessity  in  the  East.  No  amount 
of  argument  will  change  the  fact  that  this  is  the  real 
view  of  provincial  officialdom;  and  until  they  look 
at  the  whole  matter  differently  but  little  progress 
can  be  made  in  many  directions. 

Thus  there  are  two  distinct  Chinese  official  con- 
ceptions of  these  foreign  services.  As  if  to  accen- 
tuate the  peculiar  position  occupied  even  in  Peking, 
Sir  Robert  Hart’s  immediate  chiefs  are  not  the 
Presidents  of  the  Board  of  Revenue  — which  answers 
to  the  Ministry  of  Finance  in  other  countries  — but 
the  Wai-Wu-Pu,  or  the  Chinese  Foreign  Office; 
and  all  returns,  reports,  despatches,  and  other  com- 
munications between  the  Inspectorate- General  and 


246 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAP. 


the  various  branches  of  the  Chinese  Government 
pass  through  the  Wai-Wu-Pu  and  through  no  other 
channel,  and  are  regarded  as  foreign  affairs  or 
quasi-foreign  affairs.  And  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  time  has  considerably  modified  the  attitude  of 
the  provinces,  cases  are  continually  cropping  up 
which  reveal  the  inherent  hostility  that  provincial 
Governors,  and  even  Viceroys,  feel  towards  Com- 
missioners of  Customs  — representing,  as  the  Commis- 
sioners do,  at  every  treaty  port  an  authority  which 
is  beyond  the  immediate  control  of  the  territorial 
officials,  although  the  fiction  exists  that  they  are 
under  that  control.  Everything  possible,  of  course, 
has  been  done  to  remove  the  most  irritating  points 
of  friction,  but,  although  successful  up  to  a certain 
point,  the  attempts  have  never  been  completely 
satisfactory.  Long  ago  the  principle  of  bank- 
ing all  receipts  was  wisely  adopted,  so  as  to  remove 
the  worst  feature  of  the  new  system  in  Chinese  eyes 
— which  see  squeeze  in  all  money  matters.  Haikwan, 
or  Customs  Banks,  were  established  at  the  treaty 
ports,  through  whose  hands  all  payments  and  re- 
ceipts pass,  and  these  banks,  placed  under  the  direct 
control  of  the  Taotai  of  the  port  (who,  as  colleague 
of  the  European  Commissioner  of  Customs,  directly 
represents  provincial  authority  in  Customs  matters), 
have  made  it  clear  that  the  collectorate  is  absolutely 
clean-handed.  And  again,  every  document  in  Eng- 
lish dealt  with  by  Custom  Houses  has  its  duplicate 
in  Chinese,  a course  which  necessitates  a vast 
amount  of  clerical  work,  but  which  has  done  much 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


247 


to  remove  all  cause  for  Chinese  suspicion.  Proce- 
dure is  so  clearly  laid  down,  the  machinery  works 
so  smoothly,  and  all  returns  are  so  trustworthy  and 
complete,  that  intelligent  local  officials  have  ended 
by  declaring  that  the  Foreign  Customs  might  well 
serve  as  a model  for  a complete  re-organisation 
of  all  Chinese  revenue-collecting  departments,  if 
such  a thing  were  physically  possible. 

Thus,  after  many  decades  of  hard  back-breaking 
work,  and  a studious  attention  to  complex  details 
necessary  to  overcome  the  great  bilingual  difficulty. 
Sir  Robert  Hart  has  succeeded  in  erecting  a struc- 
ture wffiich  certainly  was  never  dreamt  of  by  the 
triumvirate  of  Consuls,  meeting  together  exactly  fifty 
years  ago  in  a bungalow  on  the  muddy  foreshore  of 
old  Shanghai  to  consider  how  best  they  could  secure 
duty-payment  whilst  Taipings  and  Imperialists  were 
in  their  death  struggle.  But  nevertheless  this  struc- 
ture has  certain  severe  and  disconcerting  limitations, 
and  has  become  too  mouldy. 

As  has  already  been  written,  the  high-water  mark 
was  reached  in  the  ’nineties  — probably  the  outbreak 
of  the  Chino- Japanese  war  is  the  best  date  to  set 
down  as  the  exact  year.  After  over  thirty  years  of 
quiet,  persistent,  and  unceasing  administrative  work, 
Sir  Robert  Hart  was  then  called  upon  to  exert  him- 
self more  and  more  in  the  field  of  diplomacy  where 
he  has  but  few  compeers,  and  in  which  he  is  perhaps 
more  skilled  to-day  than  in  any  other.  The  original 
idea  of  his  office  is  contained  in  the  title  Inspector- 
General  of  Customs,  and  is  self-explanatory.  As 


248 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAP. 


the  responsible  agent  of  the  Chinese  Government, 
the  Inspector- General  oversees  the  working  of  all 
treaty  port  Custom  Houses,  and  of  the  various 
sub-services  which  owe  their  existence  to  the  mother- 
service.  After  the  Japanese  war  this  was  no  longer 
possible  in  the  manner  originally  contemplated. 
The  Chinese  Government,  having  been  saved  from 
the  loss  of  the  Liaotung  peninsula  by  the  1895  in- 
tervention, found  itself  with  dozens  of  new  questions 
before  it  with  which  it  was  powerless  to  cope. 
Europe,  in  spite  of  all  the  Treaties,  was  pressing 
more  and  more  eagerly  forward,  and  nearly  every 
country  was  demanding  some  privilege.  The  Tsung- 
li  Yamen,  casting  around  in  some  perplexity  for 
ideas,  remembered  that  there  was  one  Sir  Robert 
Hart  whose  original  office  had  been  that  of  a 
Chino-European  buffer,  and  it  now  requested  his 
constant  help.  From  that  day  the  Inspector- Gene- 
rates duties,  until  then  purely  administrative,  except- 
ing in  such  special  cases  as  the  arrangement  of  the 
French  Treaty  of  Peace  in  1885,  became  largely 
politico-financial,  with  the  whole  burden  of  a con- 
stantly grov/ing  Customs  Service  and  a new  Postal 
Service  still  weighing  him  down. 

And  the  plot  centring  round  the  Peking  Govern- 
ment rapidly  thickened.  From  the  end  of  the 
Japanese  war  to  within  a few  months  of  the  Boxer 
outbreak  it  is  one  constant  story  of  foreign  loans, 
foreign  concessions,  and  foreign  demands  — the  wffiole 
Continent  of  Europe  eagerly  coming  forward  and 
demanding  a share  of  the  Chinese  pie.  Silver  was 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


249 


rapidly  falling,  too,  and  increasing  the  complications, 
for  since  Customs  receipts  were  silver  receipts,  mort- 
gaged to  pay  foreign  gold  loans,  the  interest-service 
became  more  and  more  crushing.  Without  saying 
more,  it  will  have  been  understood  that  the  Direc- 
torate of  the  Chinese  Customs  Service,  dragged  into 
the  vortex  by  the  rush  of  events,  soon  assumed  a 
different  aspect  in  the  eyes  of  European  diplomatists 
at  Peking,  who  lost  no  time  in  communicating  their 
views  to  their  respective  Governments.  Intrigues, 
even  in  the  Peking  world  of  intrigues,  grew  so 
marked  that  even  the  British  Government,  long 
somnolent  and  apparently  indifferent  to  the  fate  of 
China,  did  something:  it  decided  that  the  time  was 
approaching  when  a fit  successor  to  Sir  Robert  Hart 
would  have  to  be  found,  and  that  the  Chinese 
Government  must  be  induced  to  give  utterance 
to  a definite  expression  of  opinion  on  the  subject. 
Owing  to  the  pressure  brought  to  bear,  both  points 
were  carried.  In  the  winter  of  1897  Sir  Robert 
Bredon,  a Commissioner  of  Chinese  Customs,  went 
to  Peking  as  Deputy  Inspector- General  with  the 
good  wishes  and  the  firm  support  of  the  British 
Government;  and  in  a despatch  to  H.B.M.’s 
Minister  in  Peking  the  Chinese  Government  defi- 
nitely laid  it  down  that  so  long  as  British  trade  in 
China  preponderated  over  that  of  other  European 
Powers,  it  was  an  understood  thing  that  the  Inspector- 
General  of  Chinese  Customs  must  be  an  English- 
man. This  expression  of  opinion  having  been 
obtained  before  the  appointment  above  recorded,  it 


250 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAP. 


was  held,  and  quite  rightly  held,  that  all  the 
necessary  arrangements  had  been  made.  But  the 
whirlwind  of  events  from  1898  to  1900  delayed  the 
retirement  of  Sir  Robert  Hart,  now  grown  grey 
in  the  service  of  China. 

Meanwhile  the  growing  China  trade  had  lost 
much  of  its  original  character.  In  the  first  instance 
confined  mainly  to  a few  great  staples  of  export 
and  import  with  a small  list  of  sundries,  it  had,  with 
the  death  of  the  tea-trade,  undergone  considerable 
change.  The  sundries  had  grown  apace,  as  tea 
slipped  from  the  export  list  and  opium  diminished 
in  the  import;  and  the  gross  value  of  the  trade, 
although  it  increased  slowly  and  steadily  in  silver 
value,  remained  almost  stationary  if  measured  in 
gold  terms.  Already,  in  1898,  the  last  Gold  Loan 
previous  to  the  Boxer  indemnity  had  been  partly 
secured  on  likin  or  native  collectorates  (as  has 
already  been  stated),  the  receipts  of  the  Customs  no 
longer  sufficing ; and  in  addition  to  this,  the 
European  staffs  were  constantly  demanding  more 
and  more  men,  as  details  and  clerical  work  multi- 
plied and  the  former  simplicity  departed.  The 
Postal  Service  (which  was  being  developed  as  fast 
as  possible  so  as  to  forestall  the  efforts  of  foreign 
Powers,  who,  by  virtue  of  their  extra-territorial  rights, 
were  opening  their  own  post  offices  at  many  of  the 
ports)  became  a serious  incubus  on  the  back  of  the 
Customs  Service.  The  rapidity  with  which  new 
men  were  set  to  work  made  it  impossible  for  the 
study  of  Chinese  to  be  given  its  proper  place;  and 


A Peking  Far-lon,  or  Decorative  Arch. 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


251 


the  additions  added  to  the  old  structure  made  the 
whole  Service  suffer  in  consequence. 

And  whilst  internal  complications  of  this  nature 
began  to  be  more  and  more  apparent,  other  intrigues 
have  been  zealously  pushed  from  the  outside.  The 
French  were  pleased  to  allege  that  the  budding 
Postal  Service,  which  does  not  as  yet  form  part  of 
the  Universal  Postal  Union,  must  come  under  their 
control,  because,  as  a result  of  the  British  arrange- 
ments of  1898,  they  obtained  another  agreement 
from  the  Chinese  Government  in  which  it  was 
promised  that,  as  soon  as  China  entered  the  Postal 
Union,  the  Chinese  Postal  Service  would  be  placed 
under  a French  Postmaster- General  and  separated 
from  the  British  Inspectorate-General  of  Customs. 
At  the  present  moment  Sir  Robert  Hart’s  Director 
of  the  Postal  Department  is  a Frenchman  who  has 
ambitions  which  even  a mastery  in  diplomacy  may 
soon  be  unable  to  check.  Already,  owing  to  the 
great  weight  which  Sir  Robert  Hart’s  advice  still 
carries  with  the  Chinese  Government,  a special 
vote  of  nearly  ;^ioo,ooo  per  annum  has  been 
sanctioned,  which  makes  the  Chinese  Postal  Service 
financially  independent  of  the  Customs  Service,  and 
is  therefore  preparing  in  some  ways  the  ground  for 
a future  separation  and  complications.  Hard  upon 
this  comes  the  opening  of  a number  of  German  and 
other  post  offices,  which  by  granting  domestic  rates 
between  their  own  branches  and  those  in  their  own 
country  tend  to  ruin  the  Chinese  Imperial  Post. 
And  the  British  Government  (as  if  events  had  not 


252 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAP. 


amply  demonstrated  how  fatuous  its  policy  in  the 
Far  East  has  uniformly  been  for  years  past)  has 
lately  been  struck  with  a new  idea.  It  is  under- 
stood that  the  Foreign  Office  cherishes  a hope  that 
a candidate  may  be  forced  into  the  important  office 
of  Inspector- General  who  will  be  a creature  of 
Downing  Street,  and  who  will  no  longer  attempt  to 
act  as  honourably  towards  China  as  the  present 
Inspector- General,  Sir  Robert  Hart,  has  always 
succeeded  in  doing  in  spite  of  many  difficulties. 
This  new  attitude  will  serve  to  complicate  still 
further  matters  which  are  already  sufficiently  com- 
plicated. For  there  is  also  now  an  intriguing 
Germany  always  seeking  to  pull  out  of  the  fire  any 
chestnuts  it  can,  and  opposing  anything  which 
makes  for  the  good  of  China,  simply  and  solely 
because  a strong  and  well-organised  China  would 
spell  the  death-blow  to  aspirations  which  will  be 
presently  set  forth  at  length  — an  intriguing  Germany 
determined  to  get  as  much  as  the  French  in  the 
Far  East. 

Under  such  circumstances,  far-away  Europe  may 
well  hold  up  its  hands  in  some  perplexity  and  ask 
what  is  to  be  done  so  that  China  and  foreign  com- 
merce may  not  be  further  hampered  by  fresh 
complications.  These  questions,  which  are  so  diffi- 
cult to  answer  when  the  strength  and  value  of  the 
conflicting  elements  remain  matters  of  conjecture, 
are  soon  dealt  with  on  the  spot.  There  is  one 
course,  and  only  one  course,  to  follow;  and  unless  it 
is  followed  there  will  be  a recrudescence  of  un- 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


253 


pleasant  episodes  which,  no  matter  what  the  results 
of  the  great  war  may  be,  will  inevitably  lead  to 
greater  complications  in  the  near  future  — since  all 
understand  that  in  ten  years’  time  it  may  be  too 
late  to  act  against  China. 

The  history  of  the  Chinese  Customs  Service  and 
what  it  has  succeeded  in  already  accomplishing  for 
the  advancement  of  the  Eastern  world  are  matters 
of  common  knowledge.  It  began  in  a small  way 
under  three  inspectors ; but  circumstances  soon 
proved  that  only  one  man  was  necessary,  so  long  as 
he  was  honest  and  efficient  and  understood  that  he 
was  a Chinese  Government  servant,  and  not  the 
creature  of  a fatuous  diplomacy.  Under  one  head 
it  has  extended  year  after  year  with  the  gradual 
opening  up  of  China;  it  numbers  to-day  in  its  ranks 
one  thousand  Europeans  and  more  than  ten  thousand 
Chinese  employh,  and  it  functions,  or  will  shortly 
function,  at  forty-four  treaty  ports.  The  coasts  of 
China  are  lighted  by  its  lighthouses,  making  the 
navigation  of  nearly  two  thousand  miles  of  coast- 
line safe  to  the  mariner.  The  great  rivers  are 
buoyed  and  beaconed  through  the  same  agency. 
The  interior  is  now  dotted  with  postal  stations 
which,  if  still  inefficient,  are  so  largely  owing  to  the 
cut-throat  competition  of  Consular  post  offices. 

A successor  to  Sir  Robert  Hart  is  needed,  and 
Sir  Robert  Bredon,  the  Deputy  Inspector- General, 
has  been  recognised  by  the  Chinese  Government  as 
the  man  whom  they  desire.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  add  that  the  telegram  despatched  from  Peking 


254 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CHAP. 


on  June  lo,  1900,  to  Canton,  warning  Li  Hung 
Chang  that  the  Empire  would  be  wrecked  if  the 
Legation  inmates  were  massacred,  which  is 
believed  to  have  done  much  to  stay  the  Boxer 
attacks,  was  sent  at  the  instance  of  Sir  Robert 
Bredon;  that  the  well-known  Article  VIII.  of  the 
Anglo- Chinese  Treaty  of  1902,  which  is  to  abolish 
likin  and  all  inland  taxation,  was  entirely  drafted  by 
the  same  official;  and  finally  that  to  him  is  due  the 
drawing  up  of  the  only  practicable  and  acceptable 
scheme  for  the  conservancy  of  the  Shanghai  River, 
a question  which  Peking  diplomacy  has  wrangled 
over  for  years. 

But  beyond  this  essential  point  there  is  much 
to  be  done  in  the  matter  of  reorganising  and  ex- 
tending the  present  services,  for  the  day  is  fast 
approaching  when  they  must  be  cemented  on  to 
the  purely  Chinese  administration  of  China,  and 
the  Chinese  made  to  feel  that  their  best  servants 
are  their  European  employes.  There  is  urgent 
need  that  before  the  Consular  post  offices  of  those 
nations  who  do  not  desire  to  see  the  integrity  of 
China  upheld  can  extend  themselves  further  afield, 
a scheme  should  be  immediately  adopted  by  the 
Chinese  Postal  Service  which  will  abolish  these 
Consular  offices  and  allow  China  to  enter  the  Postal 
Union  without  further  delay.  And  it  is  likewise 
imperative  that  the  Chinese  Imperial  Telegraphs, 
now  purely  controlled  by  an  inefficient  native  ad- 
ministration, should  be  amalgamated  with  the 
Imperial  Chinese  post  offices,  and  should  bring  China 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


255 


into  cheaper  communication  with  the  outer  world 
by  entering  into  special  arrangements  with  the 
cable  companies  or  by  laying  new  cables. 

But  there  are  other  needs.  Time  has  seen  a 
mere  extension  of  the  old,  and  but  little  provision 
made  for  the  new.  The  conditions  which  held 
good  in  China  twenty  years  ago  no  longer  apply. 
At  present  the  covenanted  staff  is  mainly  com- 
posed of  a class  of  clerks  unfitted  by  education 
for  any  position  but  the  subordinate  clerical  ones 
they  now  occupy.  The  system  in  force  aims  at 
keeping  all  in  a trembling  position  of  subordinacy, 
and  allows  no  such  latitude  or  scope  for  the  display 
of  ability  as  is  afforded  by  the  Indian  Services. 
The  fact  that  there  are  no  pensions,  but  a system 
of  retiring  allowances,  makes  the  general  position 
still  more  unsatisfactory,  and  accentuates  the  point 
of  view  that  these  Chinese  Services  are  ^Tarmed” 
to  one  high  official.  Sir  Robert  Hart.  There  are 
likewise  no  training  colleges  to  fit  men  for  Anglo- 
Chinese  work,  and  no  proper  system  of  examina- 
tions to  disclose  whether  officials  possess  an 
adequate  knowledge  of  Chinese  — a knowledge 
which  should  be  a sine  qua  non.  In  postal  work 
and  in  assessing  and  examining  work,  the  out- 
door European  staffs  are  practically  untrained,  and 
their  work  is  amateurish.  In  many  cases,  too, 
grave  doubts  are  expressed  as  to  the  integrity  of 
men  charged  with  examination  duty,  whilst  no 
effort  has  been  made  to  train  Chinese  clerks  to 
responsible  work  and  substitute  such  men  for 


256 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CH.\P. 


European  assistants.  The  numbers  of  these  latter 
are  now  unduly  inflated,  and  many  perform  the 
simplest  clerical  duties  at  salaries  often  ranging 
from  ;^5oo  to  ;^i,ooo  a year.  Neither  has  any 
effort  been  made  to  limit  extra-territorial  rights  in 
China,  as  Japan  was  able  to  do  before  the  revision 
of  her  treaties.  At  the  treaty  ports  the  Consuls 
of  all  nationalities  are  allowed  to  heckle  the  Com- 
missioners of  Customs,  and,  if  the  latter  do  not  at 
once  give  way,  the  most  trivial  matters  are  carried 
to  Peking,  to  be  there  dealt  with  by  overbearing 
Legations  able  to  over-ride  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment and  the  spirit  of  the  Treaties  by  force  majeiire. 
The  work  at  those  China  ports  whose  neutrality 
has  been  affected  by  the  war  has  been  likewise 
highly  unsatisfactory ; everywhere  there  are  signs 
that  responsibility  is  avoided  at  all  costs  and  a 
policy  of  effacement  adopted.  Had  Commissioners 
of  Customs  been  encouraged  to  maintain  China^s 
rights,  such  cases  as  those  of  the  ‘‘Rischeltni”  and 
“Rastoropny”  at  Chef 00  and  the  “Mandjour”  and 
Askold”  at  Shanghai  would  never  have  occurred. 
An  Inspector- General  less  wrapped  up  in  diplomacy 
should  have  succeeded  in  taking  over  immediately 
from  Chinese  territorial  officials  the  duties  of 
preserving  China’s  neutrality.  Instead  of  this. 
Commissioners  of  Customs,  port  Taotais,  and 
Commanders  of  Chinese  cruisers  have  made  pain- 
ful exhibition  of  weakness  and  indecision  on  all 
occasions.  This  war  was  the  time  of  all  others 
to  cement  the  Foreign  Services  more  firmly  on 


X 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


257 


to  the  Chinese  territorial  administration.  The 
palsy  of  inaction  is  everywhere  visible,  nor  has 
it  escaped  notice  that  the  Inspector- General  has 
become  a Director-General,  tied  permanently  to 
Peking.  In  addition  to  all  these  things,  the  social 
standing  of.  the  Foreign  Services  — more  especially 
in  Peking,  where  the  chief  administration  is  central 
— is  not  what  it  should  be,  and  this  is  responsible 
for  much  internal  trouble.  The  level  to  be  aimed 
at  should  be  the  haughty  Indian  level,  and  not 
that  of  a down-trodden  administration  such  as  that 
of  the  Congo  Free  State. 

But  Sir  Robert  Hart  is  now  old;  he  has  been 
fifty-one  years  in  China  and  has  not  been  in  Europe 
for  more  than  two  decades;  and  he  has  passed  the 
three-score  years  and  ten.  He  has  had  a happy, 
healthy,  and  busy  life  — happy  because  healthy, 
healthy  because  busy,  and  busy  because  his  hands 
and  mind  have  always  found  something  to  do.  He 
has  given  his  whole  life  to  China  wholly  and  com- 
pletely from  early  morning  to  late  night,  and  he 
represents  that  class  of  Englishmen  who  have  given 
England  the  name  she  possesses  abroad.  Time 
and  time  again  he  could  have  conspired  in  a way 
which  might  have  swallowed  the  whole  of  China 
into  the  British  Empire  had  he  so  desired;  instead 
of  this  he  has  allowed  the  country  to  swallow  him. 
Could  it  be  said  of  the  men  of  any  other  nationality 
that  they  would  have  so  faithfully  carried  out  their 
trust  ? It  would  seem  as  if  the  fates  had  made 
in  the  Englishman  a man  who,  though  often 

VOL.  I — S 


258 


THE  FOREIGN  SERVICES  OF  CHINA 


CH.  X 


narrow-minded  and  insular  in  his  own  country, 
has  it  in  his  power  to  identify  himself  completely 
with  the  interests  of  foreign  countries  beyond  many 
seas,  and  to  carry  tasks  of  the  most  dissimilar 
nature  to  a successful  conclusion.  The  British 
Government  has  acknowledged  Sir  Robert  Hart^s 
services  in  some  measure,  but  not  as  fully  as 
they  merit.  Whilst  his  own  work  ranks  with 
that  of  the  great  Proconsuls  of  the  British  Empire, 
as  yet  he  may  not  claim  the  same  rewards.  The 
time  is  now  ripe  for  the  necessary  changes  which 
have  been  outlined  above  — for  the  continuation 
and  amelioration  of  the  work  already  accomplished. 
The  Inspector- General  is  anxious  to  retire,  but  he 
will  only  do  so  when  he  knows  that  the  future  is 
fully  provided  for.  Once,  when  appointed  British 
Minister  in  Peking  in  1885,  he  resigned  that  post 
because  he  saw  that  the  Chinese  Services  would 
be  rent  asunder  by  intrigue  if  he  left,  and  the 
work  of  decades  thus  destroyed.  At  the  present 
moment  the  position  is  not  dissimilar.  The  passage 
of  time  can,  however,  not  be  disregarded  by  any 
man,  and  it  is  with  the  object  of  proving  the 
force  of  what  has  been  already  written,  and  of 
further  illustrating  certain  phases  of  the  Chinese 
question,  that  the  three  documents  which  follow 
are  now  produced  and  commented  on. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  SUNDRY  EXPLANATIONS 

The  outbreak  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war  found 
China,  as  usual,  unprepared  to  play  any  part  except 
that  of  a profoundly  interested  and  somewhat  un- 
happy spectator.  The  obligations  imposed  by  the 
Boxer  indemnity  of  1900  had  seriously  disturbed  the 
financial  equipoise  of  the  Central  Government  and 
the  provinces  by  draining  away  silver  to  the  amount 
of  eighteen  million  taels  a year,  with  the  certain 
prospect  that  this  load  was  yearly  to  increase,  as 
the  amortisation  of  Customs  loans  set  free  amounts 
previously  employed  to  pay  the  bond-holders  of  the 
Japanese  war  loans,  and  allowed  these  sums  to  be 
poured  into  the  lap  of  offended  Europe  instead  of 
returning  to  China’s  coffers.  The  prohibitory  clause 
which  had  absolutely  forbidden  the  importation  of 
arms  from  abroad  for  a period  of  two  years  after 
the  signature  of  the  final  peace  protocol,  had  only 
terminated  in  September,  1903;  and  although  Con- 
tinental dealers  had  been  rushing  in  Mausers, 
Mannlichers,  Krupp  cannon,  and  millions  of  rounds 
of  ammunition  during  the  half-year  of  grace  before 

259 


26o  three  documents  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


the  present  conflict,  this  could  not  be  sufficient  to 
place  China  in  the  position  she  desired  to  occupy  in 
the  settlement  of  affairs  taking  place  within  the 
limits  of  her  owm  territory.  The  usual  dull  course 
was  followed  : all  who  from  their  rank  and  position 
were  esteemed  worthy  of  confidence  were  once  again 
asked  to  memorialise  the  Throne  as  exhaustively  as 
was  in  their  power,  and  to  point  out  for  the  last  time 
the  narrow  and  necessary  road  which  China  would 
have  to  follow. 

It  was,  of  course,  understood  from  the  very  begin- 
ning that  Sir  Robert  Hart’s  suggestions  would  be 
listened  to  and  pondered  over  very  earnestly. 
Engrossed  for  at  least  a decade  in  the  study  of 
politico-financial  problems,  and  invested  since  the 
Court’s  return  with  the  high-sounding  title  of  Junior 
Guardian  of  the  Heir  Apparent,  he  commanded  the 
personal  attention  of  the  Throne,  by  which  is  now 
understood  the  all-powerful  Empress  Dowager.  It 
was  with  no  little  curiosity,  therefore,  that  the 
publication  of  his  remedial  suggestions  was  awaited. 
China  was  apparently  mortgaged  up  to  the  hilt ; 
everything  that  could  be  said  had  already  been  said 
many  times  over,  and  therefore,  without  seriously 
upsetting  the  established  order  of  things,  nothing 
much  could  be  done.  Two  months  after  the  declara- 
tion of  war  these  suggestions  were  made  public 
through  the  usual  leaking  of  Peking  Yamens.  It 
transpired  that  the  inevitable  had  happened  and  that 
the  sacred  land-tax  — sacred  because  its  inviolability 
and  its  fatness  had  been  the  sheet-anchor  of  provincial 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  261 


officialdom  for  ages  past  — was  openly  fixed  upon  as 
the  one  and  only  means,  by  employing  which  China 
could  not  only  rehabilitate  herself  but  grow  more 
powerful  and  commanding  than  she  had  ever  been 
before.  In  an  appendix  will  be  found  the  whole  of 
this  important  document  which  a twelvemonth  ago 
threw  the  provinces  into  some  consternation ; and 
in  giving  a complete  translation  of  the  Chinese  text 
the  original  wording  is  followed  as  closely  as  possible, 
so  that  the  vague  and  wooden  manner  of  utterance, 
still  adhered  to  in  China  in  this  age  of  steel,  may  be 
well  understood,  and  the  nature  of  the  gulfs  realised, 
which  have  to  be  bridged.  In  this  place  it  suffices 
to  summarise  the  document  which,  remarkable  in 
itself,  provoked  a still  more  interesting  reply. 

Sir  Robert  Hart  began  by  setting  forth  the  urgent 
need  for  increasing  the  power  of  China,  and,  to  that 
end,  for  increasing  the  revenue.  This  he  stated  at 
80  * odd  million  taels  per  annum  derived  from 
Customs,  salt,  land  and  poll  taxes.  Concentrating 
then  on  the  land-tax,  he  estimated  that  China  con- 
tained eight  thousand  million  mow  of  land,  and  that 
for  every  ten  mow  one  tael  of  taxes  might  be 
expected.  Deducting  a half  of  the  area  as 

untaxable,  there  remained  an  area  capable  of 
yielding  four  hundred  million  taels.  A second 
part  of  the  memorandum  suggested  a machinery  for 
re-organising  the  land-tax,  in  order  to  raise  this 
revenue.  This  machinery  should  be  at  first  set  in 
action  in  some  suitable  district  of  a selected  province, 
where  expectant  officials  could  be  trained  in  its 


262  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS 


CHAP. 


working;  these  would,  at  the  end  of  six  months,  go 
to  start  the  machinery  elsewhere  and  to  train 
others ; so  that,  he  computed,  by  the  end  of  three 
years  the  whole  Empire  would  be  brought  under 
the  new  system.  A third  part  of  the  memorandum 
suggested  a programme  for  expending  the  money 
thus  raised  on  the  formation  of  an  adequate  and 
self-providing  army  and  navy,  and  on  the  estab- 
lishment of  a proper  system  of  payment  for  officials. 
A fourth  section  emphasised  the  critical  importance 
of  being  ready  against  what  should  come  at  the 
close  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  and  deprecated 
opposition  to  the  scheme  proposed  simply  because  it 
was  an  innovation. 

This  lengthy  document  has  not  been  ignored  by 
students  of  the  Far  Eastern  problem.  It  has,  on 
the  contrary,  attracted  considerable  attention ; but 
curiously  enough,  foreign  critics  have  laid  stress  not 
upon  the  financial  side  — i.e.  the  complete  reform 
advocated  in  the  land-tax,  or  upon  the  fact  that  Sir 
Robert  Hart  offered  himself  to  the  Manchus  as 
paymaster  of  the  Empire,  but  rather  upon  the 
measures  which  would  result  from  such  a reform  if 
the  suggestions  made  were  adopted  in  toto.  In 
other  words,  the  question  of  the  setting  in  order  of 
the  Chinese  house,  and  the  commercial  benefits 
which  would  immediately  accrue  to  everyone  on 
such  a course  being  adopted,  are  completely  over- 
shadowed and  even  nullified  by  the  grim  spectre 
of  an  armed,  fortified,  and  determined  China. 
Putting  it  brutally,  it  may  be  said  that,  out  of  Asia, 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  263 


the  general  attitude  is  expressed  something  as 
follows:  — “It  is  best  to  let  well  alone,  and  allow 
China  to  go  along  lumberingly  and  inefficiently 
as  in  the  past,  sooner  than  see  her  rise  up  and 
gird  up  her  loins,  and  be  fully  prepared  to  step 
into  the  arena  and  challenge  Europe’s  hardly-won 
rights.” 

By  men  possessed  with  these  fears,  that  sharp- 
cutting weapon,  ridicule,  has  been  brought  into  play, 
and  it  has  been  caustically  pointed  out  in  a number 
of  quarters  that  not  even  a million  and  a half  well- 
armed  and  well-drilled  Chinese  troops,  protected  by 
a first  line  of  defence  consisting  of  thirty  Chinese 
battleships,  thirty  powerful  cruisers,  and  one  hundred 
and  eighty  torpedo  craft  would  avail  the  Empire 
anything,  so  long  as  Chinese  leaders  remain  what 
history  has  always  shown  them  to  be  when  in 
conflict  with  Europe ; that  all  this  piling  up  of 
millions  of  men  and  this  stocking  of  vast  arsenals 
will  mean  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  so  long  as 
the  moral  is  not  there.  But  it  is  well  for  Europe  to 
remember  how  sceptical  it  was  in  the  main  about 
Japan  before  the  great  war,  and  to  bear  well  in 
mind  that  the  East  is  always  inscrutable  to  those 
who  live  permanently  in  the  West. 

But  other  critics  have  gone  farther.  They  see  in 
Sir  Robert  Hart’s  Memorandum  the  complete  Boxer 
unmasked,  and  state  that  the  suggestions  made  are 
only  the  logical  outcome  of  convictions  to  be 
found  in  the  “Sinim”  Essays.  In  these  Essays 
the  opinion  was  firmly  expressed  that  the  Chinese 


264  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


people  had  at  last  found  a battle-cry,  around 
which  all  would  rally  when  they  heard  the  grim 
shouting;  that  after  a lethargy  of  centuries  foreign 
aggression  and  oppression  had  aroused  the  Chinese 
people  and  the  assimilated  Manchus  to  a sense  of 
the  common  fate  which  would  overtake  all  unless 
they  sank  their  inter-provincial  and  inter-national 
differences  and  banded  together;  and  that  Boxerism 
was  but  a manifestation  of  nationalism.  The  Essays 
described  the  wooden  shaft  of  the  spear ; the 

Memorandum  showed  temptingly  to  the  Chinese 
Government  the  huge  steel  head  which  could  be  so 
easily  fitted  on;  and  thus  the  ideas  were  not  only 
connected  but  the  second  set  were  the  logical 

outcome  of  the  first. 

This  European  criticism  is  interesting  as  showing 
how  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  Chinese 
sentiment,  aspirations,  and  ideas  since  the  settlement 
of  the  Boxer  business  — to  be  brief,  the  great 

strengthening  of  the  national  idea,  which  is  a current 
daily  increasing  — have  almost  entirely  escaped  atten- 
tion in  Europe;  but  it  is  beside  the  mark  for  other 
reasons.  With  or  without  the  land-tax  reform, 

China  is  arming,  and  intends  to  continue  arming, 
until  she  is  fully  prepared  for  evil  days.  The  whole 
essence  of  this  Memorandum  of  Sir  Robert  Hart’s 
is  contained  in  its  financial  suggestions;  and  seeing 
that  some  form  of  financial  reconstruction  must  be 
undertaken  in  China  during  the  next  few  years,  it  is 
well  to  ask  whether  the  suggested  re-organisation  of 
the  land-tax  is  feasible  or  not;  whether  the  methods 


The  Summer  Palace  at  Peking. 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  265 


proposed  are  sane  and  workable;  and  finally  whether 
the  gross  estimate  of  four  hundred  million  taels,  or 
some  £55,000,000  sterling  per  annum,  is  a possible 
or  merely  an  imaginary  total.  The  answer  to  all 
these  questions  is  not  satisfactory ; for  a little 
examination  brings  to  light  a great  number  of  dis- 
crepancies which  would  make  the  entire  recasting  of 
the  reform  scheme  necessary  before  it  was  even 
possible,  not  to  say  workable.  And  the  fact  that 
the  Inspector- General  weakens  his  case  by  acknow- 
ledging that  many  modifications  may  be  necessary 
is  also  a bad  sign. 

Beginning  with  the  metropolitan  province  of 
Chihli,  which,  being  the  most  firmly  controlled  and 
directly  under  the  eyes  of  the  Manchu  Throne, 
would  be  the  most  suitable  province  in  which  to 
inaugurate  any  new  scheme,  a first  great  obstacle  is 
immediately  encountered.  Great  tracts  of  land, 
enormous  in  extent  and  very  often  numbering  count- 
less villages,  belong  to  the  Manchu  nobility  and  the 
Bannerman  Corps,  whose  title  is  so  indisputable 
that  it  would  be  quite  impossible  for  the  Throne,  with 
its  much  weakened  prerogative,  to  attempt  to  tamper 
with  privileges  acquired  two  and  a half  centuries 
ago.  This  land  is  practically  tax-free,  and  is  not 
held  under  the  ordinary  Chinese  title-deed  or 
JiungchH,  but  by  Imperial  Letters  Patent,  which  are 
great  black-looking  documents  given  to  the  holders 
by  the  Manchu  conquerors  ages  ago,  and  as  inalien- 
able, whilst  the  present  dynasty  continues  on  the 
Throne,  as  the  feudal  baronies  of  William  the 


266  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


Conqueror  were  in  England  after  the  Norman  Con- 
quest. The  land  being  tax-free  is  leased  to  village 
communities  of  Chinese  agriculturists,  who  discharge 
their  obligations  by  payment  both  in  kind  and  in 
money.  How  much  of  Chihli  province  is  thus  held 
it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  the  area  of  arable  land 
thus  owned  must  be  a very  enormous  one  and  com- 
prise much  of  the  desirable  country.  And  the 
territorial  officials  in  this  province,  instead  of 
welcoming  the  right  to  tax  the  land  under  the  new 
scheme,  would  oppose  it  just  as  bitterly  as  the 
Manchu  proprietors,  since  they  receive  privately 
certain  ‘‘benefits”  at  the  present  moment  which, 
under  the  new  method,  would  be  impossible.  And 
although  it  is  mainly  in  Chihli  and  Manchuria  that 
Manchus  and  the  other  Bannermen  have  their  fiefs, 
in  many  other  parts  of  China  immense  tracts  of  land 
have  been  reserved  for  them,  all  of  which  is  nominally 
tax-free  and  its  area  very  indeterminate.  For  in  the 
Imperial  Letters  under  which  such  land  was  granted 
there  is  only  a record  made  of  the  number  of  villages 
given  and  not  of  the  acreage;  and  thus  it  has  not 
been  hard  in  the  many  years  which  have  elapsed  to 
add  considerably  to  such  holdings. 

But  this  question  of  Manchu  lands  is  perhaps 
the  smallest  objection;  fallow  land  is  the  greatest. 
Rough  estimates  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  in 
a number  of  parts  of  China  dealing  with  the  matter, 
province  by  province;  and  it  may  be  said  that  the 
taxable  area  varies  from  one-half  down  to  as  low 
as  one-fifteenth.  Then,  again,  “settlements”  which 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  267 


have  been  made  from  time  tq  time  are  not  so  easily 
set  aside  as  the  Memorandum  above  quoted  would 
imply,  for  these  settlements  are  as  definite,  or  are 
understood  by  the  people  to  be  as  definite,  as  law 
could  make  them,  and  are  much  like  those  found  in 
India.  The  greater  part  of  Bengal,  about  one-fourth 
of  Madras,  and  many  districts  of  the  North-Western 
Provinces  of  India  had  their  ‘^settlements”  fixed 
permanently  as  far  back  as  one  hundred  years  ago, 
and  no  one  would  dare  to  change  them  to-day. 
And  again,  in  China  it  is  quite  absurd  to  suppose 
that  all  provinces  should  pay  the  same  rate  of  two 
hundred  cash  per  mow,  which  would  be  exceptionally 
low  in  many  cases  and  exceptionally  high  in  many 
others.  In  silk  and  cotton  provinces,  which  also 
possess  an  abundance  of  rice,  like  Kiangsu  and 
Chekiang,  the  rate  goes  as  high  as  eight  hundred 
and  nine  hundred  cash  per  mow;  but  these  provinces 
are  the  exception,  and  being  rich  have  been  made  to 
pay  very  heavily  during  all  times  for  their  fertility; 
whilst  the  poorer  provinces,  with  huge  family-clans 
tied  to  the  soil  as  in  Russia,  and  over-burdening  it 
with  their  inexhaustible  demands,  are  the  rule,  and 
any  land-tax,  no  matter  how  light,  is  often  the  last 
straw  which  breaks  the  camel’s  back  and  produces 
armed  revolt. 

Then,  again,  the  rebellions  and  revolutions 

which  disfigure  the  history  of  the  nineteenth 
century  in  China  have  left  marks  which  until 
recently  were  considered  almost  ineffaceable  — 
ineffaceable  until  new  industries  and  enterprises 


268  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


infuse  new  blood  and  life  and  lighten  the  terrible 
load  all  productive  land  bears  in  China.  In  other 
words,  much  of  the  population  must  first  be  thro\\m 
from  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  into  factories  and 
workshops  to  relieve  the  pressure  on  the  rural 
districts,  and  only  then  can  loads  be  increased. 
The  Southern  Mohammedan  rebellion  devastated 
all  Yunnan  and  parts  of  Kueichou  provinces  only 
three  decades  ago;  the  Taipings  completely  ruined 
Kiangsi  province;  the  North-Western  rebellions  in 
turbulent  parts  of  China,  such  as  Mohammedan 
Kansu  and  Shensi,  make  entire  populations  dis- 
appear; and  floods  and  famines,  allowed  to  follow 
their  own  dire  course,  make  tax-collecting  impossible 
for  periods  varying  from  twelve  to  thirty-six  months 
in  large  areas. 

Under  these  circumstances,  which  by  no  means 
cover  the  entire  ground,  the  contention  that  half  the 
total  acreage  of  China  Proper  is  taxable  at  an 
uniform  rate  of  two  hundred  cash  a mow,  and  that 
such  taxation  should  yield  four  hundred  million 
taels,  or,  say,  ;^5 5, 000,000  sterling,  is  not  only 
optimistic  but  absurd.  No  such  sum  could  ever  be 
produced.  And  to  clinch  the  argument,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  say  that  the  entire  estimated  revenue 
from  land,  payable  in  silver  and  grain  after  the 
biblical  manner,  is  to-day  but  thirty-two  million  taels, 
or  say  four  and  a half  millions  sterling.  The  differ- 
ence between  these  two  sums  is  so  startling  that  it 
is  impossible  to  believe,  without  even  considering 
the  few  details  which  have  already  been  considered. 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  269 


that  a sum  equivalent  to  even  half  or  quarter  the 
difference  finds  its  way  into  the  pockets  of  Chinese 
officials.  For  if  such  were  the  case  every  Viceroy 
and  Governor  might  put  a million  or  two  into  his 
pocket  yearly;  all  Taotais  and  other  high  territorial 
officials  could  estimate  their  pickings  by  the  hundred 
thousand  taels ; smaller  officials  might  squeeze  with 
ease  from  ten  to  fifty  thousand  annually;  and  finally 
yamen-runners,  the  detested  birds  of  prey  battening 
on  every  country  side,  would  have  their  hundred 
taels  a month  from  every  man  — even  then,  leaving 
many  millions  over  to  disappear  in  some  mysterious 
way  which  cannot  be  fathomed. 

What,  then,  is  the  explanation  of  this  complicated 
question  ? It  is  necessary  to  turn  to  another 
Memorandum  which  throws  much  light  on  hidden 
things,  and  quote  almost  in  full  what  Viceroy  Chang 
Chih-tung,  looked  upon  by  some  as  the  great  hope 
of  China,  answered  in  reply  to  a command  conveyed 
by  Imperial  Rescript  instructing  Viceroys  and 
Governors  to  report  directly  to  the  Throne  on  the 
proposed  reform.  His  Memorial  is  in  the  highest 
degree  interesting  and  establishes  clearly  the  re- 
lationship of  the  provinces  to  the  Central  Govern- 
ment and  the  Throne  to-day.  After  a formal 
recapitulation  of  Sir  Robert  Hart’s  proposals,  the 
Viceroy  opens  the  attack  in  the  directest  way. 

The  Inspector- General  states  the  possible  revenue  at 
much  too  high  a figure.  It  could  not  be  raised  and  would 
excite  insurrections. 

I will  now  (says  the  Viceroy)  state  the  faults  and  advan- 


270  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


tages  of  the  proposals  before  your  Majesties.  Without 
counting  Turkestan,  Mongolia  and  Manchuria,  China  is 
stated  to  be  4,000  li  wide  and  4,000  li  deep.  Its  area  would 
therefore  be  16,000,000  square  li.  Each  li  is  assumed  to 
contain  500  mow,  and  16,000,000  multiplied  by  500  equals 
8,000,000,000  mow.  If  each  mow  of  this  land  pays  two 
hundred  cash  the  total  revenue  will  be  Taels  800,000,000. 
But  it  is  supposed  that  the  revenue  will  amount  to  half  of 
this  or  Taels  400,000,000.  If  this  be  true,  the  road  to 
riches  would  indeed  be  a short  one.  Every  Viceroy 
and  Governor  would  with  joy  adopt  the  suggestions.  At 
the  risk  of  no  matter  how  much  trouble  it  might  cause 
each  one  of  them,  and  no  matter  how  much  dissatisfaction 
it  might  awaken,  all  would  proceed  at  once  to  relieve  the 
anxiety  of  the  Sovereigns  and  to  open  the  way  to  wealth 
and  comfort  to  all  the  people. 

But  the  Inspector- General  of  Customs  has  looked  at  the 
old  maps  of  China  and  calculated  its  area  in  this  way. 
His  estimate  is  based  on  emptiness.  He  supposes  the 
great  and  small  rivers  and  lakes,  the  cities,  towns  and 
villages,  the  mountains  and  the  barren  wastes  to  be  all 
a part  of  the  area  capable  of  cultivation.  Dividing 
8,000,000,000  mow  by  two,  he  arrives  at  the  conclusion 
that  China  can  yield  a revenue  from  land  and  grain  taxes 
of  Taels  400,000,000.  He  omits  to  think  that  in  China 
most  of  the  area  is  mountainous  or  is  covered  with  rivers 
and  lakes;  cultivated  plains  amount  to  much  less  than 
half.  In  the  Hu  Pu  Tse-li  of  1874  the  total  number  of 
mow  is  given  at  742,000,000  mow.  This  is  less  than  one- 
tenth  of  the  area  stated  by  Sir  Robert  Hart.  If  there  has 
been  collusion  and  concealment,  the  true  area  cannot  be  much 
above  this  amount.  The  cultivated  area  has  been  measured 
during  the  successive  reigns  of  the  Emperors.  How  can 
there  be  any  great  difference  between  the  area  of  China 
ages  ago  and  the  area  now  under  the  Manchu  Sovereigns? 
A difference  amounting  to  ten  times  as  much  of  the  whole 
is  impossible.  It  may  be  said  that  the  mow  differs,  and 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS 


271 


that  the  land-tax  varies  in  this  region,  and  that,  of  course, 
some  localities  are  fertile  and  others  are  barren;  this  leads 
to  difference  in  land-tax  and  grain-tax.  Taxes  cannot  be 
levied  according  to  land  measurement,  but  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  soil.  To  levy  200  cash  on  every  mow  is 
absurd.  The  Board  of  Revenue  has  lately  ordered  the 
Empire  to  pay  yearly  in  silver  Taels  31,000,000;  if  all  the 
land  be  taxed  evenly  without  reference  to  quality,  each 
mow  will  only  be  liable  for  less  than  five  candareens  of 
silver.  The  Inspector- General  supposes  each  mow  to  be 
liable  for  one  mace;  this  is  adding  at  one  stroke  to  the 
taxation  so  much  that  it  is  double  what  it  was.  This  the 
people  could  not  bear. 

Some  persons  may  say  that  200  cash  a mow  is  not  much 
to  pay,  but  in  the  South  Eastern  Provinces  where  land  is 
very  productive  the  tax  is  more  than  200  cash  a mow. 
But  it  is  only  in  some  prefectures  that  this  is  true.  In 
North  Eastern  China  there  is  not  a little  waste  land. 
The  value  of  the  land  is  very  small;  often  a family  of 
eight  cannot  subsist  on  several  tens  of  mow  occupied 
by  them  or  on  a farm  of  more  than  100  mow.  The 
produce  does  not  in  some  years  sufi&ce  for  their  food  and 
clothing.  To  obtain  from  them  ten,  twenty  and  thirty 
strings  of  cash  each  year  as  land-tax  is  often  impossible. 
It  is  plain,  then,  that  two  hundred  cash  a mow  is  far  too 
large  an  amount  to  be  thought  of  as  an  estimate  of  land- 
tax. 

Besides,  the  mow  varies  in  area.  In  some  localities  it  is 
240  kung;  in  others  it  is  360  kung;  in  some  places  it 
is  720  kung.  These  values  have  been  transmitted  from 
former  times.  It  is  impracticable  to  obtain  uniformity 
in  returns  from  various  provinces.  Another  cause  of 
diversity  is  concealment  of  the  true  areas  of  farms.  Rich 
proprietors  hector  and  bribe,  and  the  amount  of  their  dues 
is  settled  by  a compromise.  Poor  proprietors  occupy 
mountain-land  or  land  bordering  on  streams ; the  land 
measurer  may  require  the  same  tax  as  from  land  better 


272  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


situated.  The  occupiers  become  angry ; sometimes  they 
strike  the  officers  and  destroy  the  tax  office.  The  esti- 
mated tax  cannot  then  be  collected.  Even  if  the  magi- 
strates and  their  assistants  are  fair-minded  they  have  much 
to  do.  The  details  are  endless  even  in  one  district  city 
with  its  area.  Days  pass  and  the  measurement  can  only 
be  completed  in  one  or  two  years.  The  magistrates,  tax- 
collectors,  village  constables,  and  persons  in  their  employ 
as  workmen  would  be  subjected  to  very  great  trouble  if 
a new  measurement  (such  as  Sir  Robert  Hart  proposes) 
were  resolved  on  for  the  Empire.  It  is  not  conceivable 
that  as  much  as  10,000  mow  in  addition  would  be  found 
in  the  taxable  land  in  the  area  of  every  hsien  city.  But 
supposing  that  there  were  an  addition  of  taxable  land  in 
the  area  of  every  district  city,  the  increase  would  not 
amount  to  a thousand  taels  of  silver.  The  profit  would  be 
small,  and  the  expense  and  labour  involved  would  be  very 
great.  The  whole  population  would  be  excited.  Each 
man  would  be  subjected  to  much  trouble.  The  anxiety 
and  grief  occasioned  would  be  painful  beyond  description. 
The  Government  has  at  present  more  than  enough  of 
difficulty  on  hand.  It  is  highly  important  to  quiet  the 
minds  of  the  people.  The  indemnity  fixed  by  treaty 
in  1901  requires  annually  Taels  18,000,000  to  be  paid  to 
foreign  countries.  Each  province  is  spending  money  on 
new  improvements  (such  as  railways,  colleges,  etc.).  In- 
numerable small  expenditures  take  away  the  means  of 
subsistence  from  the  poor  of  every  locality.  Infamous 
persons  tempt  the  people  to  wrong-doing,  and  they  are 
everywhere.  False  stories  are  invented  to  lead  people 
astray.  Foolish  persons  believe  them  and  hurry  after 
some  unprincipled  schemer.  Should  any  new  cause  of 
disturbance  be  added  just  now  to  stir  men’s  minds  and 
trouble  the  authorities? 

During  300  years  our  dynasty  has  ruled  on  the  principle 
of  light  taxation  and  few  imposts.  In  the  tenth  year 
of  Kanghi  (a.d.  1711),  an  Edict  said  the  land-tax  should 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  273 


never  be  increased.  When  great  armies  were  required  and 
great  works  were  planned,  when  even  the  Treasury  was 
empty,  the  land-tax  was  not  increased.  The  system  of 
kiuen  shu  contributions  and  that  of  likin  collections  were 
added,  but  the  land-tax  has  not  been  increased  and  has 
often  been  remitted.  This  is  because  farmers,  more  than 
any  other  class,  labour  hard  for  small  returns.  Miserably 
poor  they  are,  doubtless. 

The  Inspector-General  of  Customs  proposes  that  the 
Customs  duties  be  abolished  and  the  salt-tax  also.  The 
people  should  be  allowed  to  trade,  but  is  this  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people  or  is  it  to  extend  the  profit  of 
the  proprietary?  The  Taels  400,000,000  which  the  State 
requires  each  year  is  all  to  be  taken  from  the  farmer.  The 
trader  and  artisan  are  to  contribute  nothing.  Can  any 
scheme  be  more  unjust  than  this  of  Sir  Robert  Hart^s? 
The  result  could  only  be  extremely  disastrous.  What  can 
be  his  meaning  in  framing  such  a proposition? 

My  thoughts  run  in  this  direction.  Since  the  Customs 
were  placed  in  foreign  hands,  half  of  the  power  of  control- 
ling the  wealth  of  China  has  been  in  foreign  hands  too.  In 
this  Memorandum  of  Sir  Robert  Hart  I see  that  he  wishes 
to  have  the  control  of  the  land-tax  also.  Should  he  obtain 
it  as  the  result  of  his  cleverly  expressed  and  ably  written 
Memorandum,  he  will  have  too  much  power  over  China’s 
finance.  I have  been  reading  over  several  times  the  Edicts 
of  the  Empress-Dowager  and  of  the  Emperor.  They  say 
much  of  the  misery  of  the  people  and  the  merciless 
exactions  of  the  magistrates  and  the  tax-collectors.  All 
the  people  are  deeply  affected  by  these  Edicts.  They 
weep  as  they  read  them.  I feel  certain  that  the  Sovereigns 
will  not  be  swayed  by  the  persuasive  words  of  this  Memo- 
randum. I have  been  in  the  provinces  for  many  years.  I 
have  seen  much  of  land  measuring  and  the  levy  of  taxes 
on  newly  cultivated  land.  There  are  certainly  not  4,000 
million  mow  of  land  the  produce  of  which  would  bear 
a tax  of  200  cash  a mow.  Sir  Robert  Hart  asks  that  he 


VOL.  I — T 


274  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


may  have  the  control  of  the  land  and  grain  taxes.  His 
statements  are  far  wrong  and  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as 
in  any  degree  practicable.  I cannot  be  a party  to  support 
any  such  design.  The  Sovereigns  have  commanded  us 
each  to  state  his  view.  The  increase  of  the  revenue  for 
the  support  of  the  army  and  drilling  new  troops  is  a 
pressing  need  at  the  present  time.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  the 
Governors  and  Viceroys  to  adopt  methods  suited  to  the 
conditions  of  each  province  for  a larger  collection  of  money 
in  so  far  as  it  can  be  obtained  without  laying  new  taxes  on 
the  already  over-burdened  people.  The  amount  must  not 
be  oppressive  nor  the  procedure  plainly  worn  out  and  one- 
sided. Certainly  the  method  should  not  be  by  an  enor- 
mous addition  to  the  land-tax  to  the  neglect  of  other 
sources  of  revenue.  Let  there  be  cutting  down  here  and 
there.  Let  each  region  be  made  to  produce  that  which  it 
is  adapted  for.  Let  all  unite  their  strength  to  raise  what 
is  required.  Although  an  incredibly  great  addition  to  the 
revenue  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  yet  little  by  little,  an 
ounce  here,  a catty  there,  inch  by  inch  and  foot  by  foot,  a 
substantial  result  may  be  fairly  expected. 

In  every  province  some  prefecture  or  district  may  have 
a new  piece  of  land  brought  under  cultivation,  land  without 
an  owner,  quietly  ploughed  and  sown  without  the  know- 
ledge of  the  magistrate.  For  many  years  such  land  has 
paid  no  taxes.  Proof  can  be  had  and  the  amount  of 
additional  revenue  may  very  well  be  considerable.  All  the 
Viceroys  and  Governors  should  diligently  and  increasingly 
inquire  and  proceed  to  measure  all  such  land  very  care- 
fully, so  that  a sum  of  money,  it  may  be  more  or  it  may 
be  less,  may  be  gained  by  the  national  Treasury. 

I beg  your  Majesties  to  give  the  order  to  have  the 
actual  state  of  each  province  carefully  investigated.  China 
is  very  weak  at  present.  Dangers  surround  the  Fatherland. 
There  should  be  great  caution.  Action  should  be  thorough 
and  efi&cient  in  every  particular.  We  must  remember  the 
work  of  those  able  generals  and  statesmen  who  put  down 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  275 


the  Taiping  rebellion.  In  planting  their  encampments  and 
fighting  their  battles  they  showed  wisdom  and  foresee- 
ing prudence.  They  succeeded  because  they  deserved  to 
succeed. 

So  in  regard  to  success  in  finance.  I beg  your  Majesties 
not  to  listen  to  clever  novelties  couched  in  language  pleas- 
ing to  the  ear.  Unwise  finance  leads  to  insurrections. 
There  are  many  rebellions  chronicled  in  history  which 
were  caused  by  unwise  finance.  Rebellions  occasioned  by 
extortionate  exactions  are  most  easily  produced  in  times 
of  poverty.  The  deceivers  of  the  people  work  mischief 
most  readily  when  the  Government  is  weak. 

What  I fear  is  that  Sir  Robert  Hart’s  plans  will  lead 
foreigners  to  look  with  greedy  eyes  on  our  supposed 
wealth.  They  will  quickly  form  cunning  plans  to  obtain 
control  over  our  sources  of  revenue.  Our  system  of 
government  will  be  thrown  into  confusion  by  many 
ambitious  foreign  schemers.  It  is  not  only  Hart  that 
is  to  be  feared. 

I beg  your  Majesties  to  weigh  matters  carefully  and 
consider  the  consequences  when  propositions  of  a revolu- 
tionary character  are  confidently  made.  The  Memorandum 
of  Hart  is  empty  and  wanting  in  truthful  statement.  As 
commanded,  I have  consulted  with  my  fellow- Viceroys. 
Viceroy  Yuan  Shih-kai  telegraphs  that  he  has  sent  up  his 
memorial.  He  asks  me  to  do  the  same.  This  with  tears 
of  sincerity  I now  do. 

This  document  which  ends  so  tearfully  is  one  of 
the  most  informing  and  striking  published  in  China 
for  a number  of  years.  It  is  in  many  respects  more 
remarkable  than  Sir  Robert  Hart’s,  for  it  is  not  only 
illuminating  but  it  is  refreshing.  It  has  an  Eastern 
atmosphere  about  it,  and  is  couched  in  such  speaking 
biblical  language  that  the  distressed  provinces  loom 
up  large  and  very  real  before  one.  Sometimes  the 


276  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  ch.\p. 


aged,  grey-bearded  Viceroy  is  exact;  sometimes  he 
speaks  eloquently  of  all  things,  and  so  well  does  he 
modulate  his  tones  that  one  might  well  inquire,  by 
the  beard  of  Mohammed,  whether  this  is  not  the 
bulbul  singing  to  the  rose ! Many  points  are  made, 
and  it  is  clearly  showm  that  the  provinces  have 
given  all  they  mean  to  give  directly  for  some  time 
to  come,  and  that  if  the  screw  is  put  on  there  will 
be  danger.  This  is  one  of  the  best  points  in  the 
document. 

The  whole  Memorial  is  too  long  to  be  analysed  in 
great  detail,  but  certain  things  may  be  picked  out. 
The  Inspector- General  is  accused  of  looking  at  old 
maps  — probably  by  this  is  meant  the  maps  founded 
on  the  wonderful  surveys  undertaken  at  the  instance 
of  the  first  Manchu  Emperors  by  the  early  Jesuits, 
which  awakened  dread  in  the  hearts  of  territorial 
officials  two  centuries  ago,  and  which  ever  since 
have  been  denounced  as  untrustworthy.  The  In- 

spector-General is  further  told  that  his  estimate  is 
based  on  emptiness,  and  that  he  supposes  that 

rivers,  lakes,  cities,  towns  and  villages  and  even 
barren  spaces  (a  fine  sarcasm)  are  all  susceptible  of 
cultivation.  And  then  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung 
vouchsafes  the  information  that  in  the  Hu  Pn  Tseli, 
or  the  registers  of  the  Board  of  Revenue,  the  total 
number  of  mow  under  cultivation  was  returned  as 
late  as  1874  at  742,000,000  mow.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  statements  in  the  whole  docu- 
ment, and  one  which  the  Board  of  Revenue  has 

never  been  willing  to  make  itself;  for  it  means  that 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS 


277 


but  one-eleventh  of  the  entire  area  of  China  is 
included  in  the  land-tax  assessment,  and  that  these 
742  millions  only  produce  thirty-two  million  taels  or 
one  tael  for  every  twenty-five  mow  of  land.  Seeing 
that  in  mountainous  Japan  over  one- third  of  the 
area  is  returned  in  the  official  reports  as  taxed,  and 
that  the  Japanese  land-tax,  which  is  not  necessarily 
levied  on  arable  ground,  produces  some  £5,000,000 
sterling  from  an  area,  reduced  to  Chinese  measure, 
which  amounts  to  about  200  million  mow,  it  is  more 
than  strange  that  the  Chinese  land-tax  which  is 
levied  on  an  area  almost  four  times  as  great  as  that 
in  Japan  produces  a revenue  perceptibly  smaller. 

It  is  thus  clear  that  if  Sir  Robert  Hart  is  unduly 
optiniistic,  Chang  Chih-tung  as  an  apologist  is 
hardly  less  to  be  censured.  But  not  only  does 
Chang  Chih-tung  repudiate  everything  said  in  the 
proposals  which  he  was  called  upon  to  criticise,  but 
he  clinches  his  arguments  after  the  Chinese  fashion 
by  running  all  down  the  gamut  of  indignation,  and 
giving  a number  of  shrewd  blows  which  were  not 
lost  on  the  Central  Government  or  the  Court.  He 
points  out  that  it  is  quite  impossible  that  such  a 
large  difference  as  nine-tenths  could  exist  between 
the  real  area  and  the  present  assessment;  that  the 
difference  in  mow  measurements,  although  great,  do 
not  account  for  these  things;  and  that  productive- 
ness of  the  land  varies  as  much  as  the  actual  extent 
of  the  mow  unit.  But  all  these  arguments  are 
merely  prefatory  — the  real  note  is  struck  when,  also 
after  the  manner  of  Chinese  officialdom  at  bay, 


278  THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


Chang  Chih-tung  in  a somewhat  polite  and  veiled 
fashion,  but  still  deliberately,  defies  the  Throne. 
‘^Unwise  finance  leads  to  insurrections,’’  he  says, 
calmly  adding  arguments  which  are  convincing  to 
Chinese  minds,  saturated  as  they  are  with  a history 
teeming  with  rebellions  and  complots,  and  fearing 
to  inaugurate  the  new  simply  because  experience 
has  taught  that  each  step  forward  necessitates 
others,  and  that  to  stand  mulishly  still  for  a long 
time  before  acting  is  the  best  policy.  Nor  can  the 
ugly  hint  about  the  Taiping  rebellion  be  passed  by; 
the  Throne  is  reminded  that  the  provinces  crushed 
that  rebellion  for  the  Manchus  when  they  were 
powerless  to  do  anything  themselves ; that  the 
future  is  in  any  case  likely  to  be  as  troubled  as  then ; 
and  that  only  the  loyal  support  of  the  provincial 
authorities  will  count  for  anything.  Everywhere  in 
the  document  is  the  system  of  equipoise  and  com- 
promise clear.  Finally,  the  fact  that  Sir  Robert 
Hart  directly  proposes  to  take  control  of  all  this 
revenue,  thus  having  all  the  finances  of  the  Empire 
in  his  hands,  is  made  enough  of  for  everybody  to 
understand  what  is  behind.  The  provinces  have 
been  satisfied  with  the  Manchu  rule  because  every- 
thing has  been  left  as  before.  If  this  policy  is 
reversed,  then,  beware ! 

Before  closing  this  discussion  it  is  as  well  to  say 
that  the  most  careful  investigation  shows  that  the 
area  under  cultivation  in  China  is  approximately 
two  thousand  million  mow,  a quarter  of  Sir  Robert 
Hart’s  estimate,  and  that  if  the  taxes  which  are 


Coming  down  from  the  North. 


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XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS 


279 


now  in  force  were  all  collected  and  handed  over  to 
the  Central  Government  the^  amount  would  be  some 
ninety-four  million  taels. 

But  what  did  the  Court  do  after  these  outspoken 
Memorials?  Did  it  attempt  to  find  the  just  mean 
between  two  unbusiness-like  extremes  by  close  and 
careful  investigation?  Not  at  all.  The  Court  was 
a little  troubled  and  a little  more  unhappy  than  ever 
at  these  fresh  signs  of  the  times,  and  then  after  a 
short  lull  the  ordinary  business  of  the  Empire  was 
taken  up  and  the  remedial  suggestions,  which  had 
been  such  a nine  days’  wonder,  were  soon  buried  in 
oblivion.  And  shortly  after  these  things  had 
occurred  two  Decrees  were  issued  which  together 
form  the  last  document  necessary  to  complete  the 
illustration  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  Chinese 
system. 

The  Decrees  run : — 

Imperial  Decrees 

(A)  The  other  day  Hsi  Lin,  Keeper  of  the  Seals  and 
Censor,  denounced  the  incapability  of  the  officials  of  Honan 
province,  where  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  the 
enforcement  of  law  and  order  are  exceedingly  lax,  as 
exemplified  by  the  wide-spread  disorders  raised  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Hushu  Hui  secret  society  in  that  province. 
We  therefore  sent  instructions  to  Yuan  Shih-k’ai  to  investi- 
gate the  charges  and  report  at  once  to  us  (Honan  is  Vice- 
roy Yuan  Shih-k’ai’s  native  province.  — Translator).  Yuan 
Shih-k’ai’s  report  is  now  before  us,  in  which  he  states  that 
the  principal  leaders  of  the  said  Hushu  Hui  have  all  been 
captured  by  the  Government  troops,  while  their  followers 
have  since  been  scattered.  The  officials  of  the  province, 
generally,  cannot  be  excused,  however,  from  the  charge  of 


28o  three  documents  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


lack  of  energy  and  vigilance,  and  inability  to  capture  the 
robbers  concerned  in  plundering  the  country-side.  With 
reference  to  the  charges  against  Lang  Kuei-lin,  Major- 
General  of  the  Hopei  Military  Circuit,  the  memorialist 
finds  that  he  has  not  been  guilty  of  the  charge  of  avarice 
and  disregard  of  his  good  reputation,  but  the  said  Major- 
General  should  not  have  used  the  soldiers  under  him  to 
serve  as  an  escort  to  bring  his  family  to  Honan,  when  they 
ought  to  have  been  occupied  in  patrolling  the  country-side 
and  acting  as  a check  against  brigands.  For  this  misuse 
of  his  men  we  hereby  command  that  the  said  Major- 
General  be  removed  from  his  post.  As  to  the  conduct  of 
Lu  Heng-hsiang,  district  magistrate  of  Hsinhsianghsien,  in 
taking  to  himself  as  concubine  the  daughter  of  the  petition 
writer  of  his  yamen,  and  his  neglect  to  keep  a watch  upon 
the  conduct  of  his  underlings  whose  rapacity  and  eagerness 
to  obtain  bribes,  etc.,  have  been  a by- word  throughout  the 
country  round  about,  we  hereby  command  the  said  magi- 
strate to  be  cashiered  forthwith  as  a warning  to  others. 
We  further  desire  to  impress  upon  Chen  Kuei-lung,  the 
Governor  of  Honan  province,  the  importance  of  keeping  a 
strict  watch  on  the  good  government  of  his  province  and 
to  use  his  best  efforts  in  the  matter  of  preserving  peace 
and  good  order  therein.  Let  the  Board  concerned  take 
note. 

(B)  Since  the  beginning  of  the  winter  months  until 'the 
present  we  have  had  very  little  snow,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  farmers  are  waiting  anxiously  for  a good  snow 
fall.  We  sympathise  deeply  with  the  troubles  of  our  poor 
farmers  in  this  connection,  and  we  therefore  think  it 
incumbent  upon  us  to  proceed  on  the  22  nd  instant  to  the 
Takao  temple  to  pray  for  snow  and  thus  help  our  subjects. 
We  further  command  Prince  P’u  Wei  to  sacrifice  on  our 
behalf  on  the  same  day  at  the  Shihying  temple;  Prince 
Tsai  Hsun  to  sacrifice  at  the  Ch’unghsien  temple;  Prince 
Tsai  T’ao  at  the  Jen  temple;  and  Prince  P^u  Lun  at  the 
Ningho  temple.  Let  all  obey. 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  281 


Could  one  ask  for  anything  more  than  these 
Decrees  ? The  Throne,  tired  of  being  worried  by 
Memorials  about  this  everlasting  land-tax,  first  vents 
its  spite  on  Honan  officialdom.  Lang  Kuei-lin,  a 
Major-General  of  a military  circuit  belonging  to  the 
old  regime^  has  been  using  his  provincial  army  or 
portions  thereof  to  bring  his  family  into  Honan,  and 
for  this  excessive  attention  he  is  removed  from  his 
post.  I think  it  was  my  fate  actually  to  witness 
something  of  this.  First  came  the  great  country 
carts,  piled  high  with  Mrs.  General  Lang’s  effects 
and  full  of  fat  serving  women;  then  the  mule  litters 
swinging  to  and  fro  to  the  tune  of  jangling  bells  and 
bearing  the  more  precious  members  of  the  family, 
which  are  the  wives  and  concubines:  behind  these, 
donkeys  and  ponies  on  which  were  mounted  many 
servants  and  retainers;  and  then,  all  along  the  road, 
with  a vast  tail  straggling  far  away  behind  until  it 
was  lost  in  the  distance,  came  a number  of  the 
valiant  provincial  army  of  Honan  in  big  flapping 
Hupeh  hats,  protecting  them  from  the  sun,  and  with 
the  fire-pieces  serving  to  carry  bundles  innumerable, 
meandering  along  and  coarsely  jesting  with  the 
women.  For  such  a natural  crime  as  this  is  the 
poor  provincial  General  of  the  old  regime  to  be 
removed  from  his  post ! But  the  removal  will 

happily  take  time,  perhaps  a year,  perhaps  two  years 
— and  by  then  funds  will  have  been  accumulated 
which  will  enable  all  to  protest  that  it  was  a mistake 
and  that  even  if  the  General  did  err  he  has  been 
already  sufficiently  punished. 


282 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  chap. 


But  the  conduct  of  the  district  magistrate  of 
Hsinhsianghsien  in  taking  unto  himself  the  daughter 
of  the  pet  it  ion- writer  of  his  Yamen  is  evidently 
viewed  with  greater  displeasure  by  the  august 
Throne,  since  the  offender  is  summarily  cashiered  as 
a warning  to  others.  Why,  it  may  well  be  asked, 
cannot  a Chinese  official  take  as  concubine  the 
daughter  of  his  Yamen  petition- writer,  since  in 
China  all  women  willingly  become  concubines  ? 
Is  it  immoral?  No,  but  it  disturbs  equipoise  and 
must  be  stopped.  For  the  petition- writer  is  an 
important  person  in  a country  Yamen.  He  sits 

near  the  main  gate  — is  as  likely  as  not  housed  in 
the  Yamen  itself  — and  to  him  come  all  and  sundry 
with  the  material  facts  of  their  cases,  talking  so 
loudly  and  disputing  so  much  that  any  experienced 
petition-writer  can  pick  out  the  man  who  has  the 
ihost  money  in  very  few  minutes.  The  district 
magistrate,  probably  when  he  was  strolling  forth  in 
the  evening  to  get  the  cool  breezes  which  follow  the 
stifling  heat  of  the  summer  days,  saw  the  comely 
daughter  of  his  petition-writer,  and  forthwith  arranged 
that  she  should  be  added  to  his  harem,  making 
perhaps  the  fourth  or  fifth  beloved,  since  there  is 
nothing  unlawful  or  unseemly  in  having  up  to  eight 
little-footed  and  much-painted  women,  who  fight 
amongst  themselves  eternally,  and  yet  are  too  attrac- 
tive to  the  Celestial  mind  to  be  got  on  without. 
And  if  the  daughter  of  the  petition-writer  is  comely, 
it  is  quite  certain  that  she,  duly  instructed  by  her 
father,  will  soon  dominate  the  whole  Yamen;  for 


XI 


THREE  DOCUMENTS  AND  EXPLANATIONS  283 


women  in  China  rule  as  closely  as  they  do  in  other 
countries,  in  spite  of  certain  honoured  beliefs  that 
they  are  oppressed  and  down- trodden.  Anyone 
who  has  been  in  country  Yamens  knows  this.  And 
with  the  equipoise  of  the  country  Yamen  gone  there 
would  be  certain  to  be  trouble ; therefore  let  the 
magistrate  go  first. 

Finally,  in  the  second  Edict  the  poor  farmers  are 
thought  of.  The  weather  having  been  threatening 
for  days  and  snow  quite  certain,  prayers  were 
ordered  to  be  said  by  the  Imperial  Princes  begging 
for  snow.  Within  forty-eight  hours  the  north 
wind  brought  it  down  from  Mongolia  and  Man- 
churia ; and  the  Throne,  assured  that  all  were 
satisfied,  slept  once  again  in  peace.  Such  things 
as  concerned  equipoise  had  been  duly  adjusted ; 
nothing  remained  to  be  done. 

The  picture  is  therefore  complete  — theory  and 
practice  have  been  illustrated  and  explained.  And 
thus,  whilst  the  war  rolls  on  just  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  Great  Wall,  the  Throne  and  high  Chinese 
authorities  make  their  calculations  and  keep  the  old 
machinery  slowly  moving.  Soon  they  will  take  up 
the  discussion  of  these  things  again.  For  the  time 
being,  all  has  been  said  that  is  necessary,  for  the 
Chinese  question  is  a tiresome  and  never  ending  one. 


CHAPTER  XII 


TIENTSIEN,  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  AND  THE  PRES- 
ENT OUTLOOK 

The  afternoon  train  is  waiting  for  you  beyond  the 
Water  Gate,  through  which  the  first  Sikhs  entered 
in  1900;  a small  crowd  of  Europeans  and  Chinese 
is  on  the  platform;  cigarettes  and  native  newspapers 
are  now  hawked  just  as  they  are  in  other  countries; 
and  the  crowd,  were  you  to  strip  the  surroundings, 
would  seem  exactly  as  other  crowds.  The  engine 
shrieks  and  away  you  dart,  this  time  due  east  under 
the  Tartar  wall;  then  due  south,  skirting  the  inside 
of  the  Chinese  city  wall,  and  finally  out  through  a 
hole  in  the  wall  into  the  open  country.  You  have 
thus  had  a longish  run  of  four  or  five  miles  within 
city  walls;  but  you  have  interfered  with  no  city 
occupations,  for  the  Chinese  city  of  Peking  is  filled 
with  vast  open  spaces  near  the  enclosing  walls, 
spaces  that  are  sometimes  patched  with  cabbages 
and  vegetables,  and  sometimes  covered  with  debris^ 
but  all  impressing  you,  as  the  train  makes  its 
riotous  passage,  with  the  fact  that  the  Golden  Age 

284 


CH.  XII  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  AND  THE  OUTLOOK  285 


has  long  passed  here,  and  that  the  nation  is  now 
living  on  a much  exhausted  capital. 

It  is  somewhat  curious  though,  too,  these  rail- 
ways which  run  so  smoothly  and  so  rapidly,  the  one 
from  the  Yangtsze  Valley  and  Central  China,  the 
other  from  the  Pechili  seas  right  up  to  within  a few 
hundred  yards  of  the  Palace  Gates.  For  to  Chinese 
eyes  and  minds  it  is  all  part  of  one  system  — the 
system  and  state  of  affairs  which  culminates  in  a 
great  armed  Legation  square  leaning  up  against  the 
pink  walls  of  the  Forbidden  City,  and  at  least  out- 
wardly imposing  its  will  on  the  Manchu  Court 
within. 

And  not  only  is  there  a strong  garrison  to  defend 
the  Legations,  but  all  the  way  down  to  Tientsien, 
and  then  from  Tientsien  to  the  sea,  which  is  twenty 
miles  off,  and  once  again  north  to  Shanhaikwan, 
there  are  other  little  garrisons  of  occupation-troops, 
twelve  in  number.  Some,  as  at  Tientsien  and  Shan- 
haikwan, are  composed  of  soldiers  of  many  nations; 
others  have  a single  flag,  French,  German,  British, 
or  some  other  flying  above  them,  proclaiming  the 
presence  of  an  armed  detachment  of  one  of  the  most 
Christian  Powers.  The  Legations  have  protected 
themselves  as  strongly  as  they  can  in  Peking  itself, 
short  of  so  outraging  propriety  that  the  farce  of  being 
on  friendly  terms  with  the  Chinese  Government 
could  not  be  kept  up.  But  in  addition  to  that  they 
have  linked  themselves  with  Tientsien  by  means  of 
these  railway  station  detachments;  Tientsien  itself  is 
strongly  garrisoned ; and  then  to  the  sea  by  two 


286  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  AND  THE  OUTLOOK  chap. 


routes,  east  and  north-east,  the  road  is  kept  open  by 
the  same  means  against  possible  surprises  carried 
out  in  the  old  manner.  Then  there  is  the  Marconi 
connection  with  another  wireless  station  on 
the  dreary  mud-flats  of  Taku,  which  can  send 
electric  wave  signals  to  any  fleet  lying  on  the  Bar, 
and  bring  thousands  of  sailors  to  the  help  of  the 
soldiers  in  a very  few  hours.  Not  only  this,  but  the 
famous  Taku  forts,  which  have  played  such  a great 
if  inglorious  part  in  the  Eurasian  history  of  the  last 
half  century,  have  been  dismantled  and  razed  to  the 
ground;  the  Tientsien  city  wall,  which  proved  such  a 
hard  nut  for  the  Allies  to  crack  in  1900,  has  also 
disappeared;  the  mud-laden  Peiho  River  is  being 
straightened  out  so  that  not  only  steamers  but  gun- 
boats can  steam  up  to  the  Bund  rapidly  and  speak 
their  will;  and  thus  in  many  ways  the  Chinese  offen- 
siveness has  been  reduced  to  defencelessness  and  all 
possibility  of  a revanche  removed.  At  least  so  think 
the  men  recently  from  Europe  who  do  not  know  the 
East.  This  whole  defence  undertaking,  with  num- 
berless little  precautionary  measures,  such  as  the 
establishment  of  well-equipped  military  intelligence 
offices  at  Tientsien,  the  exclusion  of  Chinese  troops 
from  various  zones  which  are  still  deemed  danger- 
ous, the  absence  and  prohibition  of  Chinese  arsenals 
anywhere  near,  smells  strongly  of  the  united  intelli- 
gence of  eleven  Powers,  who,  having  laid  their 
heads  together,  would  produce  a state  of  affairs 
making  another  Turkey  of  China ; if  the  Chinaman’s 
history,  which  includes  a great  number  of  successful 


xn  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  AND  THE  OUTLOOK  287 


dealings  with  the  Turks,  did  not  prove  that  his  country 
has  never  been  a Turkey  and  never  will  be  one, 
and  that  the  conqueror  within  the  gates  has  always 
suffered  one  of  two  fates  — has  been  forced  to  retreat 
or  has  been  quickly  assimilated. 

Thus  musing,  you  steam  along  the  eighty  odd 
miles  of  the  Tientsien  road,  with  the  flags  of  the 
little  foreign  garrisons  at  the  bigger  railway  stations 
nodding  at  you,  and  begging  you  to  consider  their 
side  of  the  question.  If  you  do,  you  immediately 
conclude  that  the  Germans  and  the  French  and 
their  flags  are  much  too  much  en  evidence^  and  that 
the  two  Powers  who  really  count  in  the  Far  East, 
England  and  Japan,  have  not  been  assertive  enough. 
Ten  years  ago,  Germans  and  French  could  not  be 
allied  together  in  this  strange  manner;  to-day  every- 
thing is  possible. 

Tientsien  looms  up,  but  it  is  a new  Tientsien  with- 
out its  Black  Forts,  big  walls,  and  waving  banners 
which  used  to  proclaim  it  the  rowdiest  city  of  the 
Empire.  There  are  none  of  these  things  now,  and 
in  place  thereof  only  a great  broad  road  called  the 
Viceroy’s  road,  which  sweeps  from  the  Tientsien  city 
station  through  the  heart  of  the  native  town  until  it 
comes  out  on  to  the  foreign  bunds  and  concessions. 
And  since  Yuan  Shih-kai,  the  great  Viceroy,  may 
have  no  armed  troops  near  him  excepting  viceregal 
escort,  this  road  and  all  the  other  modern  roads  of 
the  native  city  are  patrolled  by  so-called  police, 
armed  only  with  wooden  staves,  and  uniformed 
after  the  manner  of  the  reformed  Chinese  soldiery. 


288  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  AND  THE  OUTLOOK  chap. 


There  are  more  than  three  thousand  of  these  men, 
all  tall,  well-built  fellows,  who  can  swing  their  staffs 
up  to  the  salute  in  a way  which  shows  you  that  the 
rifle  is  their  weapon,  and  that  in  twenty-four  hours 
you  could  convert  the  whole  into  a picked  body  of 
infantrymen. 

Placed  on  this  broad  road.  Viceroy  Yuan  Shih-kai’s 
Yamen  is  a very  modest  affair  for  such  a dominant 
person  as  this  Honan  man,  who  has  made  no  mis- 
takes, although  he  has  been  exposed  to  such  crucial 
tests  as  the  1898  coup  d^etat  and  the  Boxer  business 
of  1900.  For  in  both  he  was  expected  to  be  a 
prime  mover  who  would  decide  the  day  — at  least 
temporarily  — and  in  both  cases  he  did  not  move. 
In  1898  the  reform  party,  with  the  weak  and  sex- 
less Emperor  in  their  hands,  expected  co-operation 
from  Yuan  Shih-kai,  and  had  even  duly  arranged 
for  it,  it  is  whispered,  to  the  best  of  their  ability. 
Yuan  was  no  Viceroy  in  those  days,  but  merely  a 
high  official  in  charge  of  a corps  d'elite  of  8,000 
foreign-drilled  troops  at  the  Hsiao-chan  camp,  which 
is  a Stoners  throw  from  Tientsien.  According  to  the 
plans  of  the  reformers.  Yuan,  as  a loyal  official,  was 
to  march  to  the  rescue  of  his  Emperor,  and  to  back 
the  Reform  Decrees  with  a display  of  force.  But 
Yuan  Shih-kai  was  no  novice  in  such  affairs,  and 
knew  his  Chinese  history  too  well.  He  waited  for 
time  to  sift  things  into  their  proper  perspective  and 
to  give  men  their  true  valuation;  and  his  instinct 
did  not  betray  him.  The  masterful  Empress 
Dowager  soon  arranged  things  in  the  Palace,  and 


\_Face  page  288,  Vol.  I. 


Viceroy  Yuan  Shih-kai. 


XII 


TIENTSIEN  AND  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY 


289 


the  weak  Emperor  once  more  collapsed  and  was 
forgotten.  Again,  in  1900,  when,  as  independent 
Governor  of  Shantung  with  no  Viceroy  overseeing 
him.  Yuan  Shih-kai  was  in  the  Very  centre  of  the 
Boxer  business  and  his  very  own  master,  he  waited 
patiently  with  his  good  troops,  who  might  have 
made  all  the  difference  in  the  world,  without  stirring 
or  giving  a sign.  And  in  the  end  Yuan  Shih-kai 
received  his  due  reward;  for  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember of  1900,  when  the  bubble  had  burst,  he  used 
his  men  for  the  first  time.  Acting  rapidly,  they 
drove  all  fugitive  Boxers  and  disbanded  Chinese 
soldiery  over  the  borders  of  Shantung,  and,  whilst 
foreign  troops  were  overrunning  Chihli  and  other 
provinces,  not  one  of  them  ventured  into  Shantung. 
Then  when  Li  Hung  Chang  died  Yuan  Shih-kai 
received  Tientsien  and  the  important  Chihli  Vice- 
royalty as  his  reward ; and  it  was  the  self-same 
corps  d'elite^  preserved  intact  through  all  these 
troubles,  which  escorted  the  Empress  Dowager 
back  into  the  Palace  and  provided  her  with  a 
powerful  guard  until  she  should  regain  confidence. 
It  is  again  this  corps,  with  its  picked  men  at  work 
as  drill-sergeants,  which  is  rapidly  making  other 
corps  no  less  efficient  all  over  the  north  of  China; 
and  in  a very  few  months  these  drill-sergeants,  or 
others  taught  by  them,  will  be  doing  the  same  thing 
in  every  part  of  the  country  until  the  old  Chinese 
soldier  is  known  no  more. 

Thus,  with  only  a small  mounted  bodyguard, 
horsed  on  Australian  chargers  purchased  from  the 

VOL.  I — u 


290 


TIENTSIEN  AND  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  chap. 


fatuous  German  Expeditionary  Corps  of  1900,  wait- 
ing in  the  narrow  courtyards  of  his  Yamen,  and  his 
3,000  unarmed  military  police  on  the  streets,  clever 
Yuan  Shih-kai  may  seem  far  less  important  than  he 
really  is ; but  appearances  are  often  deceptive  in 
China,  and  the  men  that  really  count  are  seldom 
appraised  at  their  right  value  on  foreign  markets. 
And  the  question  that  everyone  is  asking  now  is, 
whether  important  Yuan  Shih-kai  is  pro- Japanese 
at  heart  or  pro-Russian,  since  this  will  mean  much 
when  the  war  comes  to  an  end.  Some  say  that 
after  the  Seoul  affairs  and  the  Japanese  war  of  1894, 
nobody  could  expect  him  to  be  a friend  of  the  Japan- 
ese, because  no  other  than  Yuan  Shih-kai  was  for 
many  years  stationed  in  Korea  at  the  time  of  the 
diplomatic  struggle  between  the  Courts  of  Peking  and 
Tokyo,  and  was  actually  Imperial  Chinese  Resident, 
instructed  by  Li  Hung  Chang  at  Seoul  before  the 
outbreak  of  war.  Others  maintain  that  he  distrusts 
the  Russians,  and  that  it  is  impossible  for  him  to 
place  any  faith  in  them  since  the  events  of  1903. 
All  these  people,  however,  are  talking  for  the  sake 
of  talking,  and  miss  the  crucial  point.  For  Yuan  Shih- 
kai,  in  common  with  every  Chinese  official,  high  and 
low,  is  pro-Chinese  and  pro-nothing  else.  He  is  an 
opportunist,  with  a convenient  memory,  as  far  as 
concerns  all  non-Chinese  things,  and  he  will  remain 
so  while  China  is  what  she  is  at  present  — without 
any  strong  hand  at  the  helm.  He  is  pro- Japanese 
up  to  a certain  point,  although  never  beyond  it, 
because  he  has  at  last  thoroughly  understood  (and 


XII 


TIENTSIEN  AND  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY 


291 

he  is  the  first  high  Chinese  official  who  has  ever 
done  this)  that  efficiency  is  the  key-note  of  modern 
success,  and  that  the  Japanese  are  willing,  nay, 
anxious,  that  the  Chinese  should  learn  everything 
they  can  teach  them.  Therefore,  he  is  willing  most 
certainly  to  accept  a tuition  which  will  be  cheaper 
and  more  thorough  than  that  offered  by  any 
other  country.  But  Yuan  Shih-kai  also  never 
forgets  that  the  Russian  frontier  marches  with  the 
Chinese  frontier  for  several  thousand  miles,  and  that 
the  old  Chinese  proverb  bids  the  people  fear  the  wolf 
of  the  North  and  not  the  cock  of  the  South. 
Knowing  all  this.  Yuan  Shih-kai  is  all  things 
to  all  men.  He  has  a Norwegian  colonel  attached 
to  his  staff,  who,  because  he  wears  the  coveted 
Cross  of  St.  George,  is  supposed  to  represent  the 
Russian  side  of  the  question.  But  he  also  has  a 
Japanese  colonel  and  some  Japanese  instructors 
elsewhere,  and  in  this  way  neither  side  may  yet  say 
what  his  real  feelings  are.  The  corner-stone  of  the 
Chinese  Governmental  structure  in  internal  affairs 
is  equipoise,  and  in  semi-foreign  relations  it  has 
been  found  equally  useful.  Yuan  Shih-kai,  at  the 
present  moment,  is  truly  a man  amongst  men,  and 
the  right  one  in  the  right  place ; and  the  fact 

that  he  is  no  admirer  of  British  diplomacy  in- 
the  Far  East  shows  that  diplomacy  to  be  very 

poorly  represented.  In  less  than  ten  years’  time 
the  fates  will  force  Yuan  Shih-kai  to  show  his 

hand ; but  what  that  hand  is  to  be  no  one  can 
yet  say. 


292 


TIENTSIEN  AND  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  chap. 


From  this  Viceregal  Yamen  which  looks  so  in- 
significant, but  which  hides  so  much  that  is  im- 
portant at  the  present  moment,  you  pass  by  means 
of  a drawbridge  across  the  narrow  Peiho,  push 
through  crowded  streets  filled  with  rickshaws,  a 
struggling  crowd  of  coolies  and  the  rapidly  vanishing 
Peking  cart,  until  you  come  on  a bund  which  in 
length  now  almost  rivals  its  prototypes  of  Shanghai 
and  Hankow.  Foreign  concession  follows  foreign 
concession,  for  every  nationality  who  desired  it 
secured  after  1900  the  right  to  a piece  of  water- 
front with  a stretch  of  hinterland  behind,  and  now 
polices  it  with  its  own  police,  and  subjects  it  to  the 
laws  and  regulations  of  its  own  municipality  or 
Consul.  You  can  drive  for  several  miles  along  this 
bund,  but  along  it  there  are  only  two  concessions 
which  count,  and  which  are  really  European  in 
aspect;  the  English  settlement,  because  it  has  been 
there  for  over  forty  years,  and  contains  to-day  all 
the  shops,  hotels,  clubs,  and  business  houses  and 
life  of  the  place;  and  the  French,  because  having 
had  the  good  luck  to  have  been  founded  at  the  time 
of  the  Anglo-French  Expedition  of  i860,  it  has 
received  the  overspill  from  its  richer  neighbour  for 
four  decades.  The  same  is  exactly  true  of 

Shanghai.  But,  as  in  Hankow,  building  is  going 
on  everywhere;  hundreds  of  Europeans  are  coming 
in,  and  in  a few  years  the  foreign  town  will  be  a 
very  big  one. 

German  uniforms  are  as  much  to  be  seen  here  in 
Tientsien  as  they  have  been  all  the  way  down  the 


\Face  page  292,  V'ol.  /. 


XII 


TIENTSIEN  AND  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY 


293 


railway  from  Peking,  and  the  German  officer, 
mounted  on  the  diminutive  China  pony,  bids  you  re- 
member that  it  was  his  Minister  Plenipotentiary  who 
was  killed  in  1900,  his  Field-Marshal  who  nominally 
commanded  the  assembled  Allies,  and  finally  his 
Kaiser  who  has  led  and  can  still  lead  England  by 
the  nose  in  China,  in  spite  of  the  Anglo- Japanese 
Alliance,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  protests  which  have 
resounded  in  the  Press.  Thus  the  Germans  from 
Peking  to  Tientsien  make  just  as  much  of  a parade 
in  a sphere  in  which  they  have  but  few  interests,  as 
they  do  from  Shanghai  to  Hankow,  where  they 
have  had  the  effrontery  to  challenge  openly  the 
English  right  to  consider  the  great  Valley  as  in- 
alienable to  any  European  Power.  Nowhere  can 
the  spectacle  of  the  Mailed  Fist  policy  arouse  more 
ire  than  it  does  in  the  Far  East.  For  everywhere 
the  German,  following  in  quietly  behind  along  the 
road  the  Englishman  has  prepared,  now  contests 
privileges  acquired  long  ago,  and  by  his  mean  and 
intriguing  policy  seeks  to  gain  for  himself  petty 
advantages  which  some  day  may  be  turned  to 
account. 

But  it  is  small  wonder  that  Tientsien,  which  is  the 
real  gate  to  Peking,  should  be  still  so  military  in 
aspect,  since  the  seat  of  war  is  so  close  that  it  is  at 
times  more  than  exciting.  At  the  summer  resort  of 
Peitaiho,  which  is  but  a couple  of  hours  away,  you 
can  sit  in  your  bungalow,  and  when  the  wind  blows 
faintly  from  the  east,  listen  to  the  booming  of  Port 
Arthur  cannon  which  is  borne  faintly  but  distinctly 


294 


TIENTSIEN  AND  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY  chap. 


across  the  shallow  Gulf  of  Pechili,  a trifle  of  130 
miles,  so  that  with  the  latest  news  from  Tokyo  and 
some  knowledge  of  the  fortress,  you  may  fully 
realise  the  hell  of  shot  and  shell  that  is  being 
vomited  from  a thousand  cannon  mouths  in  savage 
effort  to  break  the  defence  — the  cries  of  agony,  and 
the  stab  of  steel,  as  assault  follows  counter-assault 
and  thousands  fall.  There  is  education  in  this  east 
wdnd  which  blow^s  so  faintly  with  the  scorching 
northern  heat  beating  down;  for,  linked  to  you  by 
iron  rails,  the  Legation  fortress,  which  has  created 
and  brought  about  all  these  things,  and  is  even  now 
inspiring  others,  is  also  uneasily  understanding  these 
sounds  and  dreading  their  consequences.  It  Ls  the 
North  which  is  more  implicated  in  the  war  than 
Central  or  Southern  China  — the  North  that  the 
Russians  have  always  understood  but  never 
conquered.  Now  the  Japanese,  the  French,  and 
the  Germans  are  appraising  this  North  at  its  true 
value,  and  each  one,  desirous  of  having  a more 
important  voice,  is  daily  attempting  to  increase  its 
hold.  Alone  England  refuses  to  understand.  This 
North  China  with  Peking  and  its  armed  Legations; 
with  Tientsien  and  its  thousands  of  International 
troops  camped  round  the  foreign  settlements;  with 
its  powerful  Viceroy  Yuan  Shih-kai,  who  has 
survived  two  crucial  tests ; with  its  millions  of 
hardy  people  who  are  born  to  become  soldiers  and 
command  the  rest  of  China;  this  is  the  one  spot 
above  all  others  on  which  attention  should  shortly 


XII 


TIENTSIEN  AND  THE  CHIHLI  VICEROY 


295 


be  concentrated.  Shanghai,  the  Yangtsze  Valley, 
and  the  rest  of  China  form  only  the  wooden  shaft, 
necessary  but  not  decisive.  This  North  is  the  steel 
head  of  which  Sir  Robert  Hart  speaks,  and  which, 
fitted  to  the  stave,  can  smash  all  intrigues  into  a 
thousand  pieces. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS  AND  THE  TRADE  IN  CONTRA- 
BAND 

At  Tientsien  (for  the  time  of  writing)  you  are 
almost  between  two  fires;  for  although  the  Russians 
have  already  been  beaten  back  from  Newchwang 
and  the  Japanese  have  taken  their  place,  the  thunder 
of  defiant  Port  Arthur  is  still  crashing  out,  as  I have 
said,  but  a hundred  and  odd  miles  across  the  shallow 
Gulf  of  Pechili.  And  from  Tientsien  you  can  still 
sneak  easily  into  the  main  Russian  lines  by  keeping 
to  the  Northern  Chinese  Railways  until  you  reach 
Hsin-ming-tun,  which  is  railhead  and  neutral 
territory,  and  then  making  a dash  by  cart  or 
pony  across  the  river  Liao  to  Moukden,  but  forty 
miles  off. 

Along  this  route  is  the  way  much  contraband  has 
travelled,  from  Roederer’s  sweetest  champagnes 
destined  for  the  crack  Russian  regiments  which 
have  much  money  to  spend,  to  Krupp’s  most 
damaging  shells  which  are  trickling  forward  in  small 
quantities  all  the  time,  and  easing  the  strain  on 
the  Siberian  and  Manchurian  railways.  All  is 

296 


CH.  XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


297 


grist  that  comes  to  the  contrabandist’s  mill,  as  he 
simply  undertakes  to  deliver  to  army  contractors  in 
the  field  whatever  is  given  to  him  in  unblockaded 
ports.  Once  his  receipts  are  signed,  he  may  hie 
himself  back  post-haste  to  cash  drafts  and  army 
orders  on  Europe,  and  begin  quickly  the  same 
process  all  over  again.  It  is  not  a very  perilous 
business  either,  but  if  one  has  one’s  own  capital 
embarked  it  is  risky  and,  as  likely  as  not,  may  be 
disastrous.  The  profits,  however,  are  so  big  and 
quick  to  come,  being  anything  from  fifty  to  two 
hundred  per  cent.,  that  there  are  many  of  all 
nationalities  staking  many  queer  stakes  on  war’s 
roulette  table.  Before  Newchwang  was  lost  this 
contraband  trade  was  nothing  at  all,  for  then  there 
was  the  alternate  route,  the  sea-route,  open,  and  on 
thick  nights  even  Japanese  torpedo-boats  are  easily 
dodged.  But  then  in  the  early  days  of  the  war, 
exciting  February,  April,  and  May,  everything  was 
in  such  terrible  confusion  with  the  Russian  collapse 
that  the  days  were  allowed  to  pass  away  with  un- 
earned profits  irrevocably  lost  because  it  seemed 
as  if  there  would  soon  be  no  Russia  at  all  to  cater 
for.  And  then  the  Russian  is  also  so  improvident 
that  he  will  not  buy  until  there  is  an  actual  shortage. 
As  long  as  he  has  a week’s  supplies  he  will  swear 
there  is  enough  for  years,  even  for  centuries  if 
necessary;  and  the  war  has  only  been  teaching  the 
vast  majority  of  people  what  a small  minority  knew 
a very  long  time  ago. 

The  contraband  rush  to  the  main  Russian  armies. 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


CHAP. 


. 298 

therefore,  which  only  began  when  it  was  really  too 
late  to  do  very  much  on  a large  scale,  has  still  been 
going  on  steadily  ever  since.  So  little  by  little,  an 
ounce  here  and  a catty  there,  as  Chang  Chih-tung 
would  say,  contraband  has  been  trickling  through  by 
railway  and  even  by  road  from  the  adjacent  province 
of  Chihli  to  Kuropatkin’s  main  forces,  and  has  at 
least  supplied  many  luxuries  which  would  have  been 
otherwise  quite  unobtainable. 

How  curious  and  picturesque  is  the  frontier  town 
of  Hsin-ming-tun  which  marks  the  terminus  of  the 
Imperial  Chinese  Railways  on  the  right  or  neutral 
bank  of  the  river  Liao.  Pushing  up  slowly  from 
Shanhaikwan  by  a train,  in  which  you  find  all 
manner  of  nondescripts  from  the  unshaven  Greek 
to  the  tearful  Jew  bemoaning  the  travel-difficulties 
of  this  extreme  East,  you  at  last  reach  Hsin-ming- 
tun,  the  Ultima  Thule  of  all  this  motley  collection 
of  men.  You  have  left  far  behind  you  the  Inter- 
national occupation  troops  and  the  inner  Chinese 
problem  after  you  passed  through  the  Great  Wall  at 
Shanhaikwan,  and  now  have  a greater  and  a more 
terrible  one  in  front  of  you.  Here  in  this  dust- 
laden town,  where  the  dry  soil  rises  all  day  long  in 
yellowish  clouds,  are  gathered  together  a strange 
mixture  of  men  — all  of  them  contrabandists,  pushing 
through  their  cargo  night  and  day  by  the  plentiful 
distribution  of  bribes  and  backsheesh.  Moukden 
lies  forty  miles  away  — due  east  — and  down  the 
Moukden  trail  come  Cossacks  and  Russian  gen- 
darmes trying  to  pick  out  the  Japanese  spies  who 


XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


299 


abound  here,  crudely  disguised  as  Chinese  merchants. 
A correspondent  or  two  there  is  also  trusting  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  Chinese  ^ telegraphs  to  get 
through  cables  describing  what  the  latest  arrival 
from  the  blood-soaked  right  bank  of  the  Liao 
imagines  to  have  taken  place ; around  you  are 
Hunghutzu  bands  or  alleged  Hunghutzu  bands ; 
and  rival  armies  and  robbers  make  you  feel  that  you 
are  between  the  devil  and  the  deep  blue  sea.  Teams 
of  mules  and  ponies  attached  to  the  long  country- 
carts  are  also  travelling,  uneasily  seeking  buyers  at 
the  Russian  Commissariat  headquarters.  A little 
hotel  has  even  arisen  here  — a mere  make-shift  affair 
operated  by  an  ex- American  soldier  of  the  1900 
expeditionary  forces;  and  from  late  night  to  early 
morning  come  strange  wayfarers  arrayed  in  still 
stranger  costumes  with  pockets  full  of  rouble  notes. 
For  credit  has  long  been  non-existent  here ; and 
only  bribing  right  and  left,  and  a continued  paying 
out  of  money,  can  accomplish  the  difficult  task  of 
bringing  drinkables  and  other  things  all  the  way 
from  Tientsien  until  they  reach  the  Kuropatkin  camp. 
Beyondj  and  even  as  thick  around  you  as  the 
yellowish  dust  itself,  there  is  nothing  but  the  feeling 
and  rumour  of  war.  Everyone  who  moves  a 
hundred  yards  is  hit  in  the  chest  by  rumours;  and 
if  you  creep  down  the  left  bank  of  the  river  until 
you  can  see  the  outposts  of  the  rival  armies,  you 
may  realise  something  of  the  nature  of  the  mighty 
hosts  of  men  here  concentrated.  The  feeling  of  war 
is  heavy  in  the  air,  but  of  actual  news  there  is  none. 


300 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


CHAP. 


And  your  every  movement,  should  you  move  about, 
is  being  watched  by  someone  who  feigns  intense 
interest  in  something  else,  if  you  in  turn  should 
throw  inquisitive  looks  on  the  sleuth  hounds  who 
would  track  you  down  and  know  your  business.  In 
Hsin-ming-tun  there  is  nothing  to  be  learnt  unless 
the  true  account  of  what  men  will  pay  for  contraband. 

Even  when  you  are  back  in  Tongku,  twenty 
miles  below  Tientsien,  and  have  started  wandering 
about  vaguely  searching  for  a launch  to  carry  you  to 
your  steamer,  you  feel  somewhere  in  the  small  of 
your  back,  which  has  become  extraordinarily  sensi- 
tive in  these  war-times,  that  you  have  become  an 
object  of  more  than  passing  interest  to  sundry  little 
men  in  khaki  slop  suits  who  are  also  wandering 
about,  apparently  searching  for  the  same  launch.  If 
you  seek  to  mystify  them  by  pulling  papers  out  of 
one  pocket  and  stuffing  them  hastily  into  another 
with  hurried  looks  cast  around  you,  you  will  be 
instantly  rev/arded  by  having  a little  bronze  man 
step  nonchalantly  into  your  launch  behind  you.  You 
are  suspected;  perhaps  on  your  person  can  be  found 
the  valuable  proof  of  some  profitable  little  enterprise 
concerned  with  Port  Arthur  — for  who  can  say  what 
a little  brown  man  is  thinking  of?  The  Japanese 
are  as  clever  spies  as  the  French,  although  they  lack 
perhaps  the  imagination  of  the  Russian,  who  can 
smell  sedition  and  conspiracy  in  ways  not  apparent 
to  anyone  else.  But  fortunately  for  you,  your  ship 
pushes  off,  and  with  it  the  plot  you  conceal  must  be 
lost  sight  of,  for  you  head  across  the  muddy  Taku 


XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


301 


bars  where  the  big  ocean-going  craft  lie  miles  and 
miles  out  at  sea  and  cannot  be  followed. 

Contraband  and  complots,  wars  and  attacks, 
disappear  for  a short  time  as  the  pea-soupy  water 
changes  slow;ly  to  light  yellow,  then  to  a whitey- 
yellow,  once  again  to  a green-yellow,  until  it  finally 
becomes  clear.  But  the  shallow  Gulf  of  Pechili 
with  its  fast-silting  bottom  is  a sounding-board,  if 
there  ever  was  one;  and  eight  hours  from  Tientsien, 
if  the  air  is  quite  still,  you  begin  to  hear  a curious 
suggestion  of  noise  far  off,  very  far  off.  You  strain 
your  ears  until  your  head  aches,  and  you  wish  the 
engines  would  not  thump  so  rhythmically  and  confuse 
you.  But  it  is  no  use  straining,  there  is  but  a far- 
away suggestion  of  sound,  vague,  confusing,  irritat- 
ing, and  tantalising  — it  is  the  bombardment  of  Port 
Arthur  still  proceeding.  You  are  still  many  miles 
away,  but  the  heavy  cannonade  shivers  in  the  air  and 
grows  in  volume  as  you  progress  along  the  Shantung 
coast. 

The  next  question  is.  How  near  are  you  going  to 
pass?  The  ordinary  ship’s  course  from  Tientsien  to 
Chefoo  leaves  the  defiant  Russian  fortress  thirty 
miles  away  at  least,  which  puts  Port  Arthur  too  low 
beneath  the  horizon  to  see  even  the  reflection  of  the 
night  flashing.  If  you  are  going  from  Shanghai  to 
Newchwang,  or  vice  versa ^ you  are  more  lucky,  for  you 
pass  the  Laotishan  headline  but  ten  miles  off,  and 
for  a short  time  you  are  almost  a privileged  spectator 
of  tremendous  events.  In  the  old  days  before  the 
war  when  you  were  on  this  course,  your  ship  came 


302 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


CUAF. 


in  so  close  on  its  northern  journey  (in  order  to  leave 
the  Miaotiao  islands  far  on  the  port  beam),  that  in 
daytime  you  could  see  the  summer  camps  of  the 
Russian  soldiery  twinkling  on  the  grey-black  head- 
lines of  the  Regent’s  Sword.  There  were  merely 
little  white  toadstools  of  tents  spreading  out  all  over 
the  hill-slopes  in  their  thousands  with  the  great  sea- 
forts  away  to  the  right  and  the  famous  narrow 
entrance  lost  to  all  view. 

But  it  had  been  whispered  before  we  left  Tongku 
that  our  good  ship  was  to  stand  in  very  close  to  Port 
Arthur  before  putting  over  the  helm  and  making 
Chef 00.  There  had  been  a wreck  on  the  Miaotiao 
islands,  and  no  news  had  been  heard  of  a certain 
vessel  which  had  deliberately  attempted  the  blockade 
a week  before.  It  was  all  a little  vague,  but  there 
was  no  cause  to  repine,  as  the  two  solitary  passen- 
gers were  given  the  chance  by  the  captain  to  change 
their  minds  before  it  was  too  late.  But  no  one 
had  objected  in  the  slightest. 

The  day  wore  on,  the  shadows  lengthened,  and 
the  distant  thunder  became  clearer  and  clearer. 
It  was  still  too  far  off,  however,  for  the  German 
captain’s  attentive  ears,  but  almost  imperceptibly  we 
began  losing  three  or  four  knots  an  hour.  The 
telegraph  did  not  ring,  but  private  instructions 
conveyed  from  bridge  to  engine  room  slipped  down 
unnoticed  by  all  except  a Shantung  deck-hand,  who, 
after  the  Chinese  manner,  must  have  felt  it.  For 
suddenly  stopping  his  polishing  work  on  some  brass 
fittings,  he  gazed  at  the  ship’s  side  and  swore 


XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


303 

quietly  under  his  breath.  It  was  as  clear  as  daylight 
to  him;  there  had  been  no  undertaking  for  contra- 
band work,  which  is  a risky  bu'siness  at  sea,  and 
here  we  were  ’twixt  Laotishan  and  the  Shantung 
Promontory  losing  three  or  four  knots  under  private 
instructions.  The  Shantung  hand  continued  to  gaze 
and  swear;  it  was  not  the  extra  danger  which  he 
minded,  but  the  loss  of  the  extra  dollars  to  which 
he  was  entitled  for  accompanying  such  work  filled 
him  with  ire.  Later,  it  was  certain  he  would  ask 
silver  to  silence  his  mouth. 

The  ship  lolled  forward  and  night  slowly  fell  on 
oily  seas.  At  eight  in  the  evening  the  booming  was 
steady,  at  nine  it  was  distinct,  and  before  four  bells 
had  rung,  flashes  to  the  north-east  began  to  play  on 
the  horizon.  The  search-lights  on  the  sea-forts 
were  evidently  busy.  The  lonely  passengers  asked 
permission  to  climb  the  rigging ; we  swore  we 
enjoyed  it  and  knew  we  were  looking  for  wrecks. 
The  nervous  skipper  waved  his  hands  in  assent  and, 
binocular-armed,  we  swarmed  clumsily  up  aloft. 
Yes,  there  was  Port  Arthur,  the  besieged  about 
which  all  the  world  is  raving ; devil-me-care  Port 
Arthur  that  is  going  to  die  certainly  as  it  lived. 
Silhouetted  by  the  blinking  electric  flashes,  dim  head- 
lines could  be  faintly  discerned.  Nearest  us  was 
mighty  Laotishan  heaving  many  hundreds  of  feet 
up  into  the  air,  with  lesser  hills  crouching  gloomily 
behind. 

The  thunder  so  distant  and  faint  all  the  afternoon 
was  here  distinct,  the  deeper  undertone  of  siege 


3°4 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


CHAP. 


artillery  and  heavy  fortress  guns  supporting  a higher 
and  thinner  roar.  Was  a general  attack  in  progress? 

With  ever  lessening  speed  we  floated  on  due 
east  — we  must  be  nearly  inside  the  mine-fields  by 
now,  and  then  — Bang ! something  flashed  off  not 
three  hundred  yards  from  us  and  we  held  our  breath. 
The  telegraph  on  the  bridge  rang  frantically  enough 
now,  but  it  was  too  late  — a long  black  destroyer 
slipped  through  the  water  towards  us  with  the 
curious  jerk  which  carries  such  craft  almost  into  you 
before  you  have  realised  that  they  are  there.  Then 
a little  cracked  Japanese  voice  bid  us  heave  to. 
The  German  skipper  left  the  bridge  and  came  down 
the  companion  ladder  with  heavy  step.  In  less  than 
a minute  he  had  the  ship’s  paper  ready  for  inspec- 
tion, and  when  the  destroyer-commander  tripped 
merrily  on  board  with  armed  blue- jackets,  who  took 
their  places  mechanically  in  full  command  of  the 
bridge,  it  was  only  to  find  that  the  ship  was  more 
than  half  empty,  that  her  documents  were  above 
suspicion,  and  that  what  she  carried  could  not 
possibly  be  used  in  a beleaguered  fortress.  Too 
many  coasters  had  been  held  up  lately  on  mere 
suspicion  for  the  pastime  to  be  as  creditable  as  it 
might  seem  at  first  sight,  and  so  scratching  his  head 
in  perplexity  the  commander  said:  — 

^^Then  why  are  you  standing  in  so  close?” 

The  German  skipper  lied  at  once  cleanly  and 
easily. 

‘^De  log  will  show  you  that  at  8.30  we  see 
rockets  and  stand  in  out  of  the  regular  course. 


XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


30s 


Dese  gentlemen  will  say  it  is  true;  dey  have  been 
in  the  rigging  for  two  hours  looking.’’ 

Since  it  was  obviously  the  game  — whatever  the 
game  was  — we  too  lied  loyally;  and  after  a while 
the  little  Japanese,  accepting  the  situation  like  a 
gentleman,  wished  us  good-night,  but  said  he  would 
see  us  safe  away. 

Long  afterwards  in  the  night,  when  the  captain 
had  blown  out  his  ill-humour  in  strange  curses  and 
drunk  himself  into  tolerable  spirits  with  the  aid  of 
those  contained  in  square-faced  bottles,  he  un- 
burdened himself,  under  promise  that  so  long  as 
Port  Arthur  stood  we  must  keep  silent.  Then  it 
transpired  that  it  was  not  blockade-running  or  con- 
traband which  carried  him  so  far,  but  despatch- 
work.  Once  already  on  a previous  occasion 
Russian  and  not  Japanese  torpedo  boats  had  met 
him  and  exchanged  bags.  “I  have  a little  star 
which  watches  for  me,”  ended  our  skipper  friend; 
‘‘My  lights  were  going  up  when,  no,  I says,  wait 
a little  and  smell  about.  If  de  Jap  seen  those 
signals,  we  would  now  be  running  for  Sasebo.” 
Thus  does  one  steam  through  curious  seas  in  which 
everybody  is  interested  in  one  belligerent  or  the 
other. 

With  Chef 00  looming  up  in  front  of  you  in  the 
morning,  there  is  again  a different  scene.  Here 
you  are  at  the  news-outport,  and  correspondents  in 
their  dozens  lurk  everywhere.  Port  Arthur  is  but 
seventy  miles  as  the  crow  flies  from  this  delectable 
spot,  and  from  Chefoo  the  contraband  industry  is 

VOL.  I — X 


3o6 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


CHAP. 


largely  directed.  It  is  a double-contrabrand  trade, 
too,  for  if  the  Russian  at  Port  Arthur  is  supplied, 
so  is  the  Japanese  at  Dalny,  since  the  whole  of 
the  lower  Liaotung,  that  is  the  Kuantung  peninsula, 
has  always  depended  much  on  Shantung  for  both 
its  men  and  its  trade. 

Chefoo  is  a pretty  place  as  places  go  in  the  East, 
and  its  deep  blue  waters,  so  sparkling  and  clear,  are 
a real  relief  after  the  eternal  mud-bars  and  ochre- 
coloured  anchorages  which  haunt  you  everywhere 
in  China.  It  is  a bustling  port,  too,  with  dozens  of 
steamers  always  coming  and  going  and  a huge 
block  of  native  shipping  clustering  thick  as  flies  — 
testifying  to  the  fact  that  the  days  of  the  junk,  even 
as  a coaster,  are  far  from  being  numbered.  Directly 
in  front  of  you  stands  a hill  crowned  with  Consulates 
and  high-flung  flagstaff.  To  the  left  a sandy  beach 
stretches  evenly  away  for  a mile  or  two ; to  the 
right  is  the  inner  anchorage  with  godowns  and 
native  houses  clustering  thick  behind  it.  The ' war, 
although  it  has  ruined  legitimate  trade  with  Russians 
across  the  seventy-mile  strip  of  sea,  has  yet  made 
Chefoo  grow  in  an  astonishing  manner  for  a China 
port.  Dozens  of  new  faces  have  come  from  nobody 
knows  where;  the  town  has  now  an  English  news- 
paper; building  is  going  on  everywhere;  the  in- 
different hotels  formerly  only  used  for  the  summer- 
bathing season  are  full  to  overflowing  with  men  of 
all  nationalities;  the  jetties  are  blocked  with  cargo 
standing  mountain  high;  .and  the  community  is 
clamouring  to  be  erected  into  an  International 


Page  306,  Vol.  /. 


The  End  of  a Torpedo-boat  Messenger. 


■r 


i. 


XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


307 


Settlement  with  power  to  govern  itself.  Chefoo  is 
a proof  of  the  fact  that  wherever  you  put  money 
into  a place  in  China,  there  will  Chinese  congregate 
in  increasing  numbers,  also  investing  their  savings 
side  by  side  with  the  European,  knowing  full  well 
that  where  the  white  man  is,  security  and  good 
government  can  be  found.  That  this  little  place 
will  one  day  be  of  value  is  testified  also  by  the  fact 
that  the  great  Catholic  missions,  whose  financial 
affairs  are  directed  by  priests  possessing  a market- 
knowledge  which  has  become  proverbial  in  China, 
are  busily  buying  land  and  building.  Just  round 
the  corner  of  Shantung  is  German  Tsingtao,  bent 
on  monopolising  all  the  province;  but  in  spite  of 
all  endeavours  Chefoo  will  defeat  such  plans. 

In  the  land-locked  harbour  for  the  time  being, 
however,  the  thing  of  the  hour  is  the  war  and 
matters  connected  therewith  and  nothing  else. 
Everybody  is  still  excited  over  the  well-known 
destroyer  incident,  and  although  the  community  is 
mainly  English,  the  balance  of  local  opinion  has  set 
strongly  against  the  Japanese  action.  For  if  one  is 
to  believe  local  evidence,  the  Japanese  torpedo-craft 
which  performed  the  cutting-out  operation  of  the 
Reshitelni  threatened  to  torpedo  the  Chinese 

cruisers  then  lying  in  the  harbour  and  charged 
with  preserving  the  neutrality  of  the  port ; and  I 
have  heard  a Chinese  boatswain  swear  that  he 
heard  this  threat  repeated  not  once  but  several 
times,  and  saw  with  his  own  eyes  the  Japanese 
sailors  ready  to  carry  out  their  words  from  the 


3o8 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


CHAP. 


mouths  of  their  torpedo-tubes.  It  would  require 
the  most  careful  sifting  of  evidence  to  decide  on 
whom  the  blame  should  fall,  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  Chefoo  affair,  like  the  Chemulpo  incident, 
was  bad  policy  and  will  bring  its  own  reward. 

As  if  to  accentuate  the  exaggerated  importance 
given  the  place,  you  will  find  Japanese  agents 
everywhere  watching  everything  there  is  to  watch; 
agents  in  mufti  and  agents  whose  thin  overcoats 
scarcely  cover  military  uniforms.  This  watching 
has  been  carried  to  such  a pitch  that  it  has  defeated 
its  purpose  and  generated  such  a cauldron  of  sus- 
picion, distrust,  and  jealousy,  that  the  Chinese  — 
the  big,  simple  Shantung  men  — are  now  laughing  all 
the  time  and  only  see  the  ludicrous  side  of  it  all. 
For  not  only  have  Russian  complots  to  be  un- 
earthed, but  Chinese  as  well.  The  local  Chinese, 
it  is  true,  do  not  at  heart  care  a button  who  wins; 
but  they  have  set  to  work  as  usual  to  make  the 
most  money  possible  out  of  the  war  from  spies, 
correspondents,  contraband-traffic,  the  giving  of 
true  and  false  information  — out  of  anything  that 
has  a value  on  war’s  fluctuating  markets.  And  they 
are  a curious  race.  Not  one  of  these  men  has  heard 
or  read  of  a modern  siege  before,  and  yet  they  know 
all  about  Port  Arthur  and  Japanese  plans  and 
Russian  counter-preparations,  and  can  even  draw 
you  sketches  of  the  general  position.  They  also 
talk  learnedly  about  parallels  and  saps  and  tell  you 
that  there  is  nothing  new  in  them,  and  that  every- 
body has  known  it  was  the  only  way  for  the 


XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


309 


Japanese  to  get  near.  Is  it  that  the  Chinaman  has 
an  inherited  instinct  about  sieges?  Nearly  all  the 
history  of  purely  Chinese  warfare  concerns  itself 
with  sieges,  of  unwieldy  armies  trying  to  smash 
down  city-walls  and  generally  failing.  It  is  probably 
this  that  makes  the  local  natives  who  have  been  to 
Port  Arthur  sceptical  about  Japanese  success,  and 
causes  them  to  argue  that  so  long  as  the  Russians 
wa  wa  (dig)  night  and  day,  the  Japanese  have  little 
chance  of  bursting  in. 

And  now,  apart  from  the  war,  there  is  in  Chefoo 
the  new  South  African  coolie  trade.  What  are  the 
Chinese  saying  about  this?  They  are  in  the  posi- 
tion of  Mr.  Midshipman  Easy  when  he  told  his 
boat’s  crew  to  wait  a little  before  attacking  because 
he  had  got  a bite.  When  Port  Arthur  is  finished 
with  and  the  vast  rival  armies  block  up  all  Man- 
churia, the  Shantung  Chinaman  may  think  about 
going  to  the  Rand.  At  present  there  is  too  much 
money  to  be  made  at  home  for  him  to  emigrate 
largely. 

Whilst  the  Japanese  watch  them,  and  the  Chinese 
look  on  and  laugh  and  serve  everyone  with  the  strictest 
neutrality  and  impartiality,  the  Russians  are  not  idle 
at  Chefoo.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the  Marconi 
installation,  set  up  a few  miles  outside  Chefoo  by 
the  Russian  Consulate,  never  worked  successfully. 
Some  messages  are  supposed  to  have  been  sent  and 
some  received,  but  the  facts  that  the  Japanese  can 
mangle  everything  with  the  cordon  of  Marconi- 
armed ships  they  have  around  Port  Arthur,  and 


310 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


CHAP. 


that  they  even  raided  the  Chefoo  installation  and 
tore  it  down  at  night,  are  sufficient  to  show  that  it 
was  never  of  any  practical  value.  But  as  a pro- 
visioning depot  Chefoo  has  been  invaluable,  although 
it  is  a mistake  to  suppose  that  blockade-runners  have 
started  in  any  number  from  this  harbour.  Chefoo 
is  merely  the  headquarters  for  those  who  direct  the 
native  contraband  trade,  and  the  prefecture  of 
Tengchow,  which  lies  on  the  extreme  north-east 
point  of  the  Shantung  Promontory,  and  is  but  sixty 
miles  from  Port  Arthur,  is  the  main  point  of  ship- 
ment. And  these  blockade-runners  are  very  hard 
to  catch,  for  they  are  not  steamers.  They  are  the 
stoutly  built  junks  of  North  China.  They  lie  very 
low  in  the  water,  have  no  towering  stern-sheets  or 
curved  prows  after  the  manner  of  the  junks  of 
Central  and  Southern  China,  but  rely  on  the 
enormous  thickness  of  their  timbers,  which  makes 
them  exceptionally  buoyant,  to  carry  them  over  the 
treacherous  waters  between  the  Liaotung  and 
Shantung.  Seldom  of  more  than  thirty  or  forty 
tons  burden,  they  load  their  fat  cargoes  with  the 
utmost  unconcern  until  the  water  is  almost  up  to 
the  gunwales.  Then  everything  is  battened  down,  and 
the  various  divisions  into  which  the  junk  is  divided 
are  made  into  so  many  water-tight  compartments 
by  using  quantities  of  native  oil-cloth  and  tarpaulins, 
which,  wedged  down  and  gripped  by  hemp  rope 
duly  dampened,  soon  clamp  as  tight  as  a vice.  The 
junks  thus  equipped  creep  off  the  north-eastern 
coast  with  the  wind  against  them  and  tack  for  the 


XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


311 

Miaotiao  islands,  which  are  pepper-castored  more 
than  half-way  across  the  narrow  strip  of  sea. 
Around  these  islands  they  lurk  and  wait,  perhaps 
a day,  perhaps  a week;  it  is  merely  a matter  of 
time  for  the  summer  and  autumn  winds  to  veer  and 
blow  up  from  the  south.  Then  at  night  time  they 
at  last  cast  off  and  make  a dash  for  it,  and  with  luck 
daylight  finds  them  under  Laotishan  or  near  Pigeon 
Bay. 

The  Japanese  have  done  their  very  best  to  pre- 
vent this  illicit  traffic,  but  have  almost  completely 
failed,  because  the  rakish  junk  succeeds  easily  where 
it  would  be  mere  foolishness  for  a steamer  to 
attempt  the  passage.  Once  for  a short  time  — nine 
days,  I think  it  was  — there  was  an  absolutely 
effective  blockade  of  Port  Arthur,  a blockade  so 
close  and  so  vigilant  that  even  the  periscope  of  a 
submarine  would  have  been  discovered.  Battle- 
ships and  cruisers  kept  their  search-lights  playing 
on  every  inch  of  sea;  smaller  cruisers  were  nearer 
in  and  a triple  torpedo-boat  cordon  moved  cease- 
lessly to  and  fro  so  close  inshore,  that  nothing 
could  have  possibly  got  through.  But  after  a bit 
the  junkmen,  who  had  been  scornfully  commenting 
on  such  unlawful  proceedings,  knocked  out  their 
pipes  and  prepared  again  for  active  business.  They 
knew  that  such  a watch  could  not  be  kept  up  very 
long  in  calm  and  storm,  and  their  market-knowledge 
stood  them  in  good  stead.  How  many  junks  have  got 
into  Port  Arthur  every  month  it  is  impossible  to  com- 
pute, but  the  number  often  has  run  into  hundreds. 


312 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


CH.AJP. 


Leaving  Chefoo  and  its  picturesque  harbour 
behind,  fifty  miles  to  the  south  you  pass  Weihaiwei. 
Few  steamers  touch  at  this  much-discussed  British 
possession,  although  the  number  is  more  consider- 
able than  it  was  a year  or  two  ago.  But  there  is 
now  a daily  ferry-steamer  service  between  Chefoo 
and  the  British  leased  port,  and  mails  and  passengers 
are,  therefore,  able  to  pass  regularly  to  and  fro. 
In  Weihaiwei  there  is  not  much  to  see.  The 
haphazard  policy  of  the  British  Government  has 
reduced  the  splendid  ist  Chinese  Regiment,  a body 
of  men  superior  to  most  Indian  troops,  to  four 
hundred  and  fifty  rifles;  the  work  on  the  fortifica- 
tions has  been  stopped ; and  under  the  control  of 
a Commissioner  responsible  to  the  Colonial  Office, 
the  counterpart  of  Port  Arthur  has  degenerated  into 
a mere  summer  sanatorium  where  the  British  China 
squadron  may  recruit  after  the  heat  of  Hongkong. 

Curling  round  the  Shantung  coast,  which  juts  out 
so  amazingly  far  into  the  Yellow  Sea,  a long  twenty 
hours  brings  you  to  German  Tsingtao.  You  are 
now  nearly  three  hundred  miles  from  Port  Arthur, 
but  still  the  insistent  contraband  trade  is  with  you. 
But  it  is  steam-made  contraband  and  not  a petty 
wind-blown  commerce,  for  from  Tsingtao  German 
and  Norwegian  steamers  dash  for  both  Port  Arthur 
and  Vladivostock  and  often  get  through.  One  man 
frequents  the  German  port  owning  a dirty  little 
tramp  which  would  not  sell  for  ;^4,ooo,  who  boasts 
that  he  has  been  fifteen  times  into  Port  Arthur  and  is 
shortly  to  attempt  the  sixteenth  voyage.  But  then 


XIII 


THE  DISPUTED  SEAS 


313 


he  is  a notorious  liar.  With  half  North  China 
conspiring  to  help  the  Russians  by  selling  them  at 
fabulous  prices  things  they  so  need,  and  the  other 
half  talking  loudly  about  breaches  of  neutrality  and 
international  law,  you  may  have  a very  pleasant 
autumn  cruise.  But  in  front  of  Tsingtao  contra- 
band sinks  to  its  proper  place,  which  is  rather  low, 
and  empire-building,  more  cautious  and  more 
economical  there  than  the  Russian,  at  once  engages 
your  attention. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY 

The  cliffs,  which  have  been  coal-black  and  menacing 
along  the  latter  part  of  your  steamer- journey,  and 
have  made  you  feel  how  iron-bound  is  the  Shantung 
coast,  at  last  begin  to  fall  away  in  more  graceful 
and  less  grim-faced  curves  when  you  approach  the 
German  Colony,  as  if  inviting  your  kind  attention. 
Ten  miles  from  Tsingtao  Bay,  Cape  Ya-tou,  the  last 
headland,  is  passed,  and,  putting  the  helm  up  sharply, 
your  steamer  pushes  straight  for  the  coast-line  which 
opens  up  suddenly  into  a neck  of  sea.  . At  the 
entrance  is  a lighthouse  painted  in  clean  red  and 
white  stripes,  a lighthouse  perched  on  a reef  over 
which  the  sea  dashes  in  calm  and  storm.  It  marks 
the  entrance  to  a landlocked  harbour.  Beating  out 
to  sea  is,  perhaps,  a stray  junk  or  two,  but  of  other 
life  there  is  none. 

You  see  nothing  at  first  excepting  some  red-brick 
buildings  on  the  shoulder  of  a hill,  which  is  a new 
German  brewery,  now  become  necessary  to  supply 
the  many  sons  of  the  Fatherland  in  the  Far  East 
with  their  light  beer.  To  the  right  and  left  of  the 


314 


CH.  XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  315 


bay  there  are  cold  treeless  hills,  which,  towering 
high  in  the  air  towards  the  south,  provide  admirable 
positions  for  heavy  artillery.  You  slip  through  a 
buoyed  channel,  and  you  notice  ihat  the  entrance  is 
not  as  yet  all  that  is  to  be  desired;  it  is  too  narrow 
and  too  treacherous.  The  mud  and  slime  which 
are  conspicuous  by  their  absence  on  the  Chefoo  side 
of  Shantung  here  spread  far  out  to  sea  and,  coming 
at  low  water  into  full  view,  have  made  a huge 
dredging  scheme  necessary  for  the  port.  Should 
you  have  been  long  in  the  East,  and  see  in  your 
scheme  of  things  only  heavily  verandahed  houses, 
German  Tsingtao  on  coming  into  view  gives  you  a 
sharp  shock;  it  is  a piece  almost  of  old-fashioned 
Germany  planted  in  the  middle  of  a Chinese  wilder- 
ness, and  looking  strange  and  wonderful.  You 
come  on  it  very  suddenly  as  your  steamer  swings  in 
gaily  whistling,  and  there  before  you  is  a brightly 
coloured  blob  of  picturesque  buildings  standing  out 
clean  and  clear-cut  as  a cameo  on  the  brown-yellow 
background.  It  has  certainly  needed  all  the  magic 
of  the  Kaiser^s  wand  to  create  this  place,  and  at  a 
distance  it  is  extraordinarily  picturesque.  Red  and 
green  roofed  houses  with  white  stuccoed  fronts 
framed  in  wood  are  there ; houses  with  miniature 
mediaeval  towers  growing  out  of  the  wrong  places 
lean  over  them : others  possessing  porches  and 

loggias  with  green-painted  woodwork  and  lemon- 
coloured  walls  shut  them  in  behind;  heavy  houses 
of  undressed  granite  are  there  too,  and  all  these  and 
many  others  blend  themselves  together  in  a charm- 


3i6  TSINGTAO  and  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY 


CH-IP. 


ing  way,  and,  crowned  by  a German  church  in  the 
old  style,  make  a picture  in  the  setting  sun  not 
easily  to  be  forgotten.  For  this  is  pure  West  thrust 
without  compromise  on  pure  East. 

You  sweep  away  to  the  left,  however,  making  for 
the  inner  harbour,  and  for  the  time  being  the 
German  town  is  lost,  for  Tsingtao  is  an  orderly 
port  which  has  been  created  entirely  by  unnatural 
means,  and  to  anchor  as  you  would  in  other  Eastern 
places  would  possibly  entail  an  imprisonment  in 
some  mock-dungeon  which  would  end  in  death. 

Round  the  bend,  the  plan  of  Tsingtao  is  clear  to 
you.  It  is  very  much  like  Dalny,  in  fact  so  much 
so  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Russian 
engineer  Sakharof,  who  constructed  the  great  leased- 
territory  failure,  simply  came  to  Tsingtao  and  copied 
everything  he  thought  good  there  and  likely  to 
conjure  up  commercial  life.  First,  there  is  an  inner 
harbour  with  great  stone  piers  and  breakwaters,  now 
almost  completed;  then  an  outer  harbour,  which  will 
be  of  vast  and  magnificent  size,  and  on  which 
dredgers  and  pile-drivers,  stone-masons  and  founda- 
tion-layers are  methodically  at  work,  but  which 
cannot  be  completed  for  years.  Crouching  near 
these  is  a Chinese  junk  anchorage,  which  in  time 
will  be  also  improved,  and  on  a piece  of  foreshore 
the  great  Tsingtao  floating  dock,  a huge  steel 
structure,  which  will  be  able  to  accommodate  the 
largest  German  battleships,  is  being  quickly  put 
together.  By  1905  this  dock  will  be  completed  at  a 
cost  of  many  millions  of  marks,  and  in  German 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  317 


hopes  it  is  confidently  expected  that  when  another 
granite  dock  under  contemplation  is  also  ready, 
cheap  dock  rates  will  take  all  the  business  of 
Continental  shipping  away  from  the  English  yards 
of  Hongkong  and  Shanghai  and  give  Tsingtao  a 
maritime  importance  which  as  yet  it  does  not  enjoy. 
Behind  the  harbour  and  away  from  the  shipping  is 
the  town  of  which  you  have  caught  a glimpse. 

As  you  float  alongside  the  granite  piers  very 
slowly  you  notice  that  the  harbour  launches  are  all 
German  manned;  instead  of  having  Chinese  crews 
on  board,  it  is  the  time-expired  German  sailor  from 
the  Kaiser’s  Asiatic  squadron  who  does  the  work. 
And  as  you  come  ashore  the  coolie  gangs  are 
hoarsely  shouted  at  by  German  overseers  in  blue 
Miitzu  and  a semi-uniform  which  would  be  im- 
possible elsewhere  in  the  Far  East.  It  is  an 
artificially  created  port  with  a vengeance.  Every- 
thing has  been  thought  out  in  the  study,  every 
detail  has  been  carefully  gone  into  and  weighed, 
and  the  sons  of  the  happy  Fatherland  have  been 
foisted  on  every  Government  department  or  quasi- 
Government  department  so  that  Germanisation  may 
be  as  apparent  as  possible.  Of  Russification  there 
has  lately  been  much  talk;  soon  Germanisation  will 
be  equally  advertised,  if  my  nose  does  not  betray 
me. 

Coming  alongside  stone  piers  is  a painfully  slow 
business,  which  gives  ample  time  to  survey  surround- 
ings. Tsingtao  is  not  very  gay,  but  it  is  better  than 
Dalny,  because  the  German  is  more  cautious  than 


3i8  TSINGTAO  and  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  chap. 


the  Russian,  and  having  but  little  of  the  Slav 
enthusiasm  and  gambling  spirit  that  creates  without 
calculating,  he  has  gone  very  deliberately  to  work. 
Yet  but  four  steamers  lay  alongside  the  commercial 
pier,  three  German  and  one  English,  whilst  a fifth, 
discharging  into  native  boats,  swung  in  the  stream, 
and  even  this  lading  and  discharging  was  proceeding 
with  a method  and  a lack  of  noise  which  was  not  of 
the  East.  Even  over  such  matters  it  seems  patent 
that  the  paternal  Government  keeps  a strict  eye. 
On  the  wharf  ran  a double  line  of  rails,  for  the 
German  railway  connects  directly  with  the  sea;  but 
the  export  trade  was  represented  by  but  two  goods- 
waggons,  which,  freighted  with  raw  cotton,  waited 
bashfully  until  they  could  be  attended  to.  Beyond 
were  a row  of  low  godo'wns  running  parallel  with 
the  water,  into  which  cargo  was  being  slowly  dis- 
charged; and  a German  policeman,  in  the  orthodox 
schiitzmann’s  tin  helmet  and  braided  uniform  and 
armed  with  a sword,  stood  in  company  with  three 
Chinese  policemen  and  saw  that  no  one  made  too 
much  noise  or  importuned  travellers  — two  things 
which  give  the  zest  to  life  by  making  one  angry. 
The  rickshaws,  which  everywhere  else  would  have 
been  charging  down  on  you  with  fierce  Boxer  shouts 
and  a Cossack  disregard  for  your  legs,  were  not 
even  in  the  middle  distance;  they  were  held  back 
like  hounds  in  the  leash  many  hundreds  of  yards 
away  by  a cordon  of  police,  and  doubtless  terrible 
penalties  awaited  those  who  crossed  this  schiitzmann’s 
rubicon.  There  is  something  curiously  unnatural  in 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  319 


seeing  the  Chinaman  thus  restrained  in  his  own 
country ; and  not  only  something  unnatural,  but 
something  which  must  inevitably  reap  its  own 
reward. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  inner  harbour  lay  Ger- 
man gunboats  and  torpedo-craft  in  some  number, 
and  near  them  the  disgraced  Russian  battleship 
Czarewitch.  What  a disgrace  in  all  truth  to  see 
this  magnificent  13,000  ton  battleship  hiding  un- 
ashamed in  a neutral  harbour.  Only  slightly 
hammered  by  the  Japanese  fire  during  the  naval 
sortie  of  the  loth  August,  with  her  magazine 
choked  with  ammunition,  and  the  greatest  damage 
done  merely  to  her  smoke-stacks,  the  Czarewitch 
was  not  courageous  enough  to  accept  a death 
struggle,  which  might  have  at  least  accounted  for 
a Japanese  ship,  and  given  the  Baltic  Fleet  a 
definite  superiority  in  numbers.  Had  the  original 
Port  Arthur  fleet,  with  all  its  inefficiency,  behaved 
but  with  common  courage  the  Japanese  might  have 
met  with  an  impossible  task  at  sea.  But  with  men 
like  the  Russian  sailors  and  officers  nothing  is  pos- 
sible excepting  disasters.  It  was  here  that  I was 
informed  by  a German  naval  officer  that  two  of 
the  Czarewitch^ s twelve-inch  guns  had  never  been 
brought  into  action  at  all  on  August  loth,  and  that 
even  the  broadside  batteries  had  fired  an  incredibly 
small  number  of  shots.  The  officer  added  that 
when  the  ship  came  into  Tsingtao,  the  confusion 
and  disorder  on  board  were  such  as  he  had  never 
believed  to  have  been  possible  on  any  ship,  and  that 


320  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  chap. 


there  was  not  a German  who  did  not  feel  that  the 
Russian  navy  existed  simply  in  name.  In  other 
words,  the  Czarewitchy  although  practically  un- 
scathed, was  panic-stricken.  Even  the  Germans  at 
Tsingtao,  who  are  intensely  pro-Russian  in  their 
sympathies,  have  placed  the  Russian  officers  of  the 
interned  battleship  in  Coventry,  and  have  told 
them  to  their  faces  that  such  cowardly  conduct  as 
theirs  deserves  no  consideration.  This  is  hardly  a 
good  augury  for  the  Baltic  Fleet  if  it  arrives  in  Far 
Eastern  waters. 

Swarming  down  the  gang-planks,  we  at  last 
reached  terra  firma;  and  coolies,  adorned  with 
metal  plates  after  the  manner  of  German  gepack- 
trdger,  carefully  and  somewhat  sadly  attended  to 
the  luggage.  The  German  systematises  everything. 
In  spite  of  the  most  violent  waving,  the  rickshaw 
men  were  not  to  be  decoyed  across  their  rubicon. 

‘‘Must  I walk  as  far  as  that?”  I inquired  of  my 
police  friend  of  the  tin  helmet. 

“It  is  not  far,”  he  said,  encouragingly;  “a  little 
walk  does  no  harm.”  So  obeying  Imperial  dictates, 
I walked  forward.  If  it  had  been  at  Dalny,  twenty 
kopecks  would  have  been  all  that  was  necessary. 

From  maritime  Tsingtao,  or  the  wharves,  it  is  a 
long  pull  to  the  little  German  town.  A broad  road 
sweeps  round  a great  open  space,  adorned  for  the 
moment  by  a few  make-shift  machine-shops,  where 
later  in  the  popular  imagination  factories  and  work- 
shops in  imposing  numbers  will  make  the  air  clang 
with  their  busy  machinery.  Half-way  to  the  town 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  321 


you  pass  under  a railway  bridge  over  which  the 
railway  runs  to  its  city  terminus.  Then  after  a 
short  half-mile  of  open  country  you  meet  the  town. 

What  shall  I say  of  German  Tsingtao,  with  its 
one  thousand  civilian  inhabitants,  who  call  them- 
selves in  moments  of  enthusiasm,  ^Xolonisten,”  and 
its  twenty  thousand  restrained  Chinese?  It  is  hard 
to  speak.  The  streets  are  well  made,  broad  and 
properly  attended  to;  the  houses  which  flank  them 
are  well  built  and  very  German  in  appearance ; 
their  fittings  comprise  all  modern  electrical  improve- 
ments. Everything  that  could  be  desired,  and  yet  — 
there  is  something  missing.  It  is  that  Tsingtao  is 
still  unnatural,  one  of  those  tours  de  force  which 
may  be  accomplished  anywhere  by  the  spending  of 
many  millions,  but  which  are  not  conclusive,  proving 
that  the  most  matter-of-fact  people  in  Europe  are 
mad  when  Imperialism  is  the  issue. 

The  first  street,  however,  is  natural  enough,  since 
it  is  given  over  to  the  Chinese.  Broad  Shantung- 
strasse,  which  runs  through  the  lower  end  of  the 
town,  is  very  busy,  and  is  indeed  the  centre  of  most 
of  the  animation,  because  Chinese  are  permitted 
legally  to  live  and  do  their  business  here.  But  they 
must  not  build  their  houses  after  their  own  manner, 
nor  do  other  things  as  they  please,  and  the  result  is 
that  although  the  brick-facing  on  the  streets  is  all 
right,  the  interior  and  interior  arrangements  of  their 
dwellings  are  deplorable  — coarse  even  for  rough 
Shantung,  where  man-flesh  is  most  lightly  valued  and 
is  subjected  to  every  kind  of  hardship.  Then  the 

VOL.  I — Y 


322  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  chap. 


name  of  the  street  is  spelt  in  a manner  which  revolts 
one  — it  is  written  Schantung  strasse.  The  extra  c 
may  mean  nothing  in  far-away  Europe,  but  in  China 
it  is  everything  — it  makes  you  pronounce  the  name 
of  the  province  as  Germans  think  it  should  be  pro- 
nounced, and  not  as  the  Chinaman  speaks  it.  This 
German  transliteration  follows  you  all  over  the  town, 
and  you  only  escape  it  when  you  are  rescued  by 
Kaiser  Wilhelm  and  Kaiser  Friedrich  and  other 
Kaisers  whose  names  are  perpetuated  on  street 
corners.  To  the  Chinaman  such  names  mean 
nothing,  and  so  he  proceeds  in  his  own  peculiar  way 
by  designating  thoroughfares  by  such  nicknames  as 
the  ‘Tour  red-house  street,”  “the  sea  street,”  etc.,  etc. 
In  one  case  the  length  of  a name  has  so  affected 
even  native  risibilities,  that  the  humble  rickshaw- 
beast  of  burden  has  affixed  the  sarcasm  ^^chiao 
sang-tzu  Veng  na-ko^^  (or  the  one  that  makes  your 
throat  ache)  to  a street  which  the  initiated  need  not 
be  told  of.  Everywhere  a strange  labelling  of  names 
that  have  been  correctly  transliterated  many  years 
ago  are  to  be  seen.  The  English  Thomas  Wade 
system  is  the  only  one  which  clears  your  throat  and 
allows  you  to  speak  Chinese  like  the  native  — and 
yet  the  German  thinks  otherwise. 

Your  rickshaw  finally  deposits  you  at  the  premier 
hotel  of  the  place,  the  “Prince  Heinrich,”  named 
after  the  Emperor’s  naval  brother,  who  in  1898 
undertook  that  wonderful  and  terrible  voyage  to 
the  Far  East  at  the  head  of  a cruiser  squadron 
with  the  object  of  impressing  on  the  Chinese 


A Street  in  Tsingtao. 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  323 


Government  and  people  the  might  of  Germany. 
The  hotel  is,  however,  as  excellent  as  are  all 
hotels  under  German  management,  for  the  Teuton 
is  bom  into  the  world  a master  of  detail,  and, 

therefore,  an  excellent  servant. 

From  the  hotel  verandahs  you  command  an  im- 
posing view  of  the  sea  and  of  the  surrounding 
hills.  A parapeted  Bund,  beautifully  finished  and 

adorned  with  artistic  lamp-posts,  sweeps  majesti- 
cally along  the  sea-front ; but  instead  of  being 
thronged  by  busy  crowds  of  natives  buying  and 

selling,  and  fighting  and  swearing  after  the  gentle 
and  pleasant  manner  of  the  country,  it  lies  silent 
and  deserted,  except  for  an  occasional  rickshaw, 

or  a still  more  rare  carriage.  For  the  hotel  is 
in  the  middle  of  the  residential  and  European 
quarter  where  the  Chinaman  venturing  becomes 
sad  and  ashamed.  Along  the  sea-front  there  are 

many  other  imposing  buildings  — hotels  that  in  vain 
sigh  for  more  business,  business  houses  that  have 
none  too  much  commerce;  and  weed-grown,  vacant 
lots,  doubtless  described  as  eminently  desirable 

building-places,  testify  to  the  fact  that  Tsingtao 

has  for  the  time  being  overgrown  even  its  Berlin- 
fed  strength. 

Behind  the  hotel,  and  perhaps  a thousand  yards 
from  the  sea,  a vast  red-brick  pile  is  slowly  rising. 
Placed  on  a piece  of  rising  ground,  with  nothing 
to  dwarf  its  big  outline,  it  looks  an  immense 
building.  It  is  the  Governor’s  future  residence. 
Somehow  it  reminded  one  oddly  of  the  palatial 


324  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  chap. 


new  Port  Arthur  hotel,  which  must  have  been 
nearly  completed  when  Togo’s  twelve-inch  shells 
sounded  its  death-knell.  There,  too,  in  Port 
Arthur  the  same  imposing  site  had  been  chosen, 
the  same  generous  proportions  planned  by  empire- 
builders,  and  flash!  in  one  second,  the  dreams  had 
vanished  into  thin  air.  . . . 

European . shops  there  are,  too,  in  Tsingtao,  but 
very  patriotic  and  thoroughly  German  shops,  where 
nothing  which  is  not  made  in  Germany  is  placed 
on  sale.  Here  you  can  understand  a little  corner 
of  that  uninteresting  problem,  the  fiscal  question ; 
for  although  Tsingtao  is  as  yet  no  dump,  you  may 
see  for  yourself  that  there  must  be  a tremendous 
over-production  in  Germany,  because  even  here  the 
meanest  shops  are  bursting  with  every  variety  of 
goods  — goods  which  are  obtained  on  such  hugely 
long  credits  that  it  really  amounts  to  a commission- 
selling, which  in  the  end  often  sees  things  ham- 
mered to  Chinese  far  below  their  cost  price,  in  a 
vain  effort  to  clear  accumulating  stocks.  How 
much  of  German  produce,  rushed  out  of  the 
country  to  figure  in  export  lists  at  fictitious  rates, 
really  represents  dead  loss  in  the  end  ? In  the 
small  market  of  the  Far  East  alone  the  yearly 
total  must  run  into  many  millions  of  marks;  and 
elsewhere  the  same  must  be  equally  true. 

Thus  musing,  you  are  almost  apt  to  forget  when 
you  are  in  the  middle  of  the  town  that  the  Tsingtao 
programme  is  not  only  a colonial-commercial  one, 
but  also  a naval-military  programme,  for  uniforms 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  325 


are  met  with  only  half  as  often  as  one  expects  in 
this  little  Kaiser- stadt.  The  explanation  is  that 
the  various  barracks  of  the  Sea-battalion,  the 
marine  artillery,  the  mounted  and  colonial  infantry, 
and  the  fortress  artillery,  all  the  heterogeneous  mass 
of  units  that  is  the  nucleus  of  the  future  German 
Port  Arthur  of  the  East,  are  four  or  five  miles 

away.  Perched  on  windy  slopes,  which  are,  how- 
ever, sheltered  from  the  bitter  north  winds  of 

winter,  stand  generous  brick  barracks,  designed 
on  a big  scale  and  capable  of  accommodating 
twice  the  present  garrison,  which  numbers  three 
thousand  men.  The  military-naval  scheme  of 
things  is,  therefore,  the  frame  which  surrounds  and 
supports  the  colonial-commercial.  Each  occupies 
a definite  and  well-thought-out  place,  and  if  pros- 
perity and  well-being  can  be  wrested  by  a mere 
application  of  mechanics  and  mathematics,  then 

Tsingtao  will  soon  be  one  of  the  chosen  spots  of 
this  earth.  As  yet,  however,  there  are  few  signs 
of  what  the  future  really  holds ; and  here  in 
Tsingtao  it  is  once  again  clear  that  Germany  is 
always  cursed  with  singular  ill-luck  in  the  selec- 
tion of  her  colonies;  for  Tsingtao  is  posted  in 
probably  the  poorest  corner  of  all  Shantung. 
There  are  no  rich  Chinese  cities  near  which  will 
enrich  it  with  their  barter ; for  even  along  the 
railway  line,  which  is  upwards  of  four  hundred 
kilometres  in  length,  there  is  nothing  much.  The 
soil  in  this  region  only  succeeds  in  poorly  feeding 
a vast  population,  now  out  of  all  proportion  to 


326  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  chap. 


the  development  of  the  province ; and  what  this 
population  possesses  in  surplus  cash  for  the  pur- 
chase of  commodities,  and  the  amounts  of  raw 
stuffs  it  can  offer  for  export,  will  not  for  many 
decades  make  the  German  colony  self-supporting. 

The  colony,  in  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks,  pro- 
gresses in  its  own  peculiar  way.  A number  of  local 
enterprises  have  been  started,  such  as  a silk  filature, 
saw-mills,  brick  and  tile  factories,  and  machine-shops; 
and  these,  with  the  Government  establishments, 
give  employment  to  a large  number  of  Germans 
and  Chinese.  But  how  little  money  is  being  made, 
except  by  such  undertakings  as  are  directly  con- 
cerned with  the  upbuilding  of  the  place,  may  be 
gauged  from  the  fact  that  the  silk-reeling  ventures 
are  losing  money  steadily,  and  that  the  expectations 
formed  when  these  enterprises  were  started  have 
been  entirely  disproved  by  subsequent  experience. 
Labour,  instead  of  being  cheap  in  Tsingtao,  which 
is  a free  port,  is  far  dearer  than  in  Chefoo  or  the 
Chinese  hinterland.  Provisions  and  food,  which 
should  be  obtainable  in  great  quantities  from  Shan- 
tung itself,  are  from  20  to  40  per  cent,  higher  here 
than  fifty  miles  inland.  Chinese  only  come  to  the 
German  colony  with  the  same  resolution  as  filled 
those  who  went  to  Manchuria  under  the  Russian 
heel  — of  extorting  the  highest  possible  value  for 
their  services  and  then  going  home ; and  a brief 
examination  of  native  rates  showed  me  that  it  may 
be  broadly  said  that  Tsingtao  prices  are  generally 
as  much  as  40  or  50  per  cent,  above  those  obtain- 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  327 


ing  in  the  rest  of  China.  The  Chinese  police  in 
Tsingtao  only  enlist  on  being  paid  100  per  cent, 
more  than  elsewhere  where  they  are  under  foreign 
control.  It  is  true  that  they  are  better  men  phy- 
sically, and  that  rarely  could  such  good  specimens 
of  muscular  manhood  be  found;  but  that  alone  is 
not  sufficient  to  justify  such  abnormal  pay;  and  this 
is  no  isolated  ca^e.  The  wages  of  all  domestic 
servants  are  proportionally  high,  and  difficulty  of 
obtaining  even  the  most  unskilled  labour  at  a mode- 
rate price  hampers  all  local  enterprises.  As  for 
skilled  labour,  the  old  Port  Arthur  rates  still  rule 
here.  By  making  a careful  examination,  I was 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that,  as  at  Port  Arthur, 
Dalny,  and  Harbin,  the  European  civilian  popula- 
tion in  Tsingtao  is  largely  living  on  direct  or  in- 
direct Government  expenditure,  and  that  if  all 
Government  works  suddenly  ceased  and  the  garri- 
son were  reduced  to  its  normal  level  of  1,200  men, 
the  condition  of  the  colonists”  would  soon  be  a 
parlous  one.  The  Government,  in  other  words, 
feeds  every  undertaking  on  a deliberate  plan.  The 
troops  and  the  war-ships  are  supplied  as  far  as 
possible  locally,  so  that  the  local  shop  people  and 
contractors  may  extract  the  fullest  possible  benefit 
from  their  temporary  exile  in  this  empire-germ.  There 
are  only  three . real  merchant  firms  of  any  import- 
ance, and  these  are  houses  which  have  made  the 
position  they  occupy  in  the  Far  East  in  British 
colonies  or  in  British-controlled  ports,  and  have  only 
opened  at  Tsingtao  because  it  may  mean  good  busi- 


328  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  chap. 


ness  later  on,  and  because  they  can  in  any  case 
afford  to  wait  a number  of  years.  The  formidable 
lists  of  Tsingtao  Government  officials,  and  the  huge 
staffs  maintained  at  the  navy  and  army  depots  alone, 
run  into  several  hundreds  of  names.  Every  induce- 
ment is  offered  to  time-expired  men  of  the  so-called 
Colonial  army  to  settle  in  Tsingtao  by  making 
places  for  them  in  Government  offices  or  securing 
positions  for  them  in  semi- Government  enterprises. 
It  is  a wonderful  experiment  and  far  more  success- 
ful than  the  Russian  one  in  Manchuria,  because,  as 
I have  already  said,  the  German  is  infinitely  more 
cautious  and  more  calculating  than  his  Eastern 
neighbour,  and  is  working  on  a deliberate  plan. 
But  final  success  is  still  as  far  off  as  it  was  in  Man- 
churia before  the  war. 

The  fates  decreed  that  shortly  after  my  arrival 
there  should  be  a grand  review  on  the  parade 
ground  in  honour  of  a German  general  from  Tient- 
sien,  who  had  come  to  inspect,  when  every  man  of 
the  garrison  and  every  sailor  that  could  be  spared 
from  the  war-ships  in  harbour  would  be  mustered. 

The  sun  rose  gloriously  and  promised  well  for 
the  ceremony.  The  Tsingtao  parade-ground  is 
beautifully  situated  beyond  the  town.  The  sea  is 
but  half  a mile  distant,  for  the  coast,  giving  way 
suddenly,  forms  a deep  and  well-sheltered  bay,  along 
whose  shores  stretches  a beautiful  sandy  beach  such 
as  is  seldom  found  in  China.  Numbers  of  artistic 
bathing  houses,  painted  all  the  colours  of  the  rain- 
bow, stand  ready  for  the  bathing  season.  Between 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  329 


the  beach  and  the  parade-ground  is  a splendid 
summer  hotel,  whose  breezy  situation  and  generous 
proportions  have  already  made  it  famous  over  half 
China  as  a piece  of  desirable  non-China.  Round 
the  parade-ground  and  leading  far  out  into  the  coun- 
try, stretch  well-made  military  roads,  which,  winding 
over  the  shoulders  of  hills  and  up  and  down  rising 
ground,  make  strangely  picturesque  serpent-tracings 
on  the  darker  background  of  the  barren  country. 
Afforestation  is  some  day  to  convert  the  Tsingtao 
hills  into  wooded  land;  but  for  the  time  being  the 
country  is  clean  and  cold-looking,  and  because  of 
its  scant  vegetation  cursed  with  a biting  dust  which 
rises  jubilantly  in  blinding  clouds  on  the  slightest 
provocation. 

Parade-day  found  all  Tsingtao  winding  its  way 
out  to  these  country  scenes.  Carriages,  rickshaws, 
and  strange-looking  cavaliers  poured  out,  and  by 
eleven  o’clock  a mixed  German  and  Chinese  crowd 
— for  the  Chinaman  is  invited  cordially  to  look  at 
the  protecting  soldiery  — stood  massed  near  the 
saluting  point,  whilst  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
parade-ground  the  troops  and  sailors  were  drawn 
up  in  close  formation.  A band  was  also  gaily  play- 
ing, for  chief  amongst  all  its  attractions  Tsingtao 
boasts  of  the  best  music  in  the  Far  East. 

Presently  the  march-past  commenced,  and  the 
crowd,  despising  the  policemen,  pushed  forward 
with  an  utter  lack  of  the  German  decorum  which 
one  expected.  It  had  been  amusing,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  watch  the  efforts  of  the  Berlin-made 


330  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  chap. 


policemen  officiously  attempting  to  stem  the  civilian 
advance.  But  the  Far  East  is  too  much  for  even 
the  strictest  militarism  in  the  world;  and  the  mili- 
tary-looking police,  met  with  pointed  chaff,  collapsed 
and  resigned  themselves  to  the  inevitable,  which 
meant  being  squashed  into  the  march-past. 

This  march-past,  with  drum  and  fife  fiercely  play- 
ing, was  not  as  impressive  as  it  should  have  been. 
Excepting  the  special  East  Asiatic  regiment,  no 
corps  looked  very  smart  or  soldierly ; but  the 
mounted  infantry  companies  were  at  least  somewhat 
workmanlike.  The  famous  Tsingtao  Sea-battalion 
provoked  even  laughter  by  its  indifferent  rifle- 
shouldering,  and  by  the  time  the  saluting-point  was 
reached,  the  men’s  legs  were  visibly  broken  by  the 
too  vigorous  goose-stepping.  The  Sea-battalion, 
however,  was  excused,  as  most  of  the  men  are  de- 
tached in  civilian  employ  so  as  to  save  the  German 
taxpayer ; but  several  of  the  other  corps  showed 
signs  that  discipline  suffers  inevitably  in  Eastern 
countries.  As  the  units  were  being  marched  off  it 
was  amusing  to  hear  the  way  the  men  in  the  ranks 
broke  out  into  talking.  Acute  observers  in  North 
China,  who  were  there  during  the  Waldersee  Ex- 
pedition, have  already  remarked  on  the  fact  that  the 
famous  German  discipline  is  only  skin-deep,  and 
that  of  real  discipline  there  is  very  little.  It  is  one 
of  the  myths  religiously  believed  in  in  Europe  that 
the  German  soldier  has  the  best  discipline  in  the 
world.  It  is  true  that  their  military  organisation 
and  drill  are  perfect,  but  no  British  soldier  would 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  331 


dare  to  ans’wer  his  non-commissioned  officers  in  the 
way  every  German  soldier  is  willing  to  do  if  he  does 
not  happen  to  feel  good-tempered.  For  half  a mile 
home  I listened  to  the  sharp  orders  for  silence 
snarled  out  by  company  officers,  but  in  spite  of  this 
a constant  sound  of  voices  rose  from  the  ranks, 
marked  sometimes  by  laughter. 

The  Chinese  companies  which  were  enlisted  here, 
in  imitation  of  the  Chinese  regiment  at  Weihaiwei, 
have  now  entirely  disappeared,  and  are  not  going 
to  be  experimented  with  again,  at  least  for  some 
time.  In  1900  they  began  to  get  restive  at  the  first 
signs  of  the  Boxer  revolt.  They  were  heavily  stif- 
fened with  German  non-commissioned  officers,  and 
disciplined  by  being  paraded  inside  of  hollow  squares 
when  the  military  executions  of  so-called  Boxers 
were  made;  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  One  day  the 
Chinese  companies  deserted  en  masse,  nailing  a list 
of  their  grievances  to  their  barrack  doors,  and  from 
this  day  German  officialdom  has  not  smiled  on  the 
idea  of  Chinese  regiments.  How  different  a story 
it  was  at  British  Weihaiwei,  only  a couple  of  hun- 
dred miles  round  the  other  corner  of  Shantung. 
There,  in  1900,  the  commandant  ordered  the  first 
Chinese  regiment  to  be  at  once  paraded  when 
trouble  was  heard  of,  explained  to  the  men  most 
carefully  the  whole  position,  and  asked  all  those 
whose  consciences  did  not  permit  them  to  remain 
and  fight  their  own  countrymen  to  step  forward 
fearlessly  as  they  would  at  once  receive  their  dis- 
charges. Only  two  or  three  obeyed  the  summons, 


332  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIAOCHOW  TERRITORY  chap. 


owing,  as  they  said,  to  special  circumstances  which 
would  make  their  villages  suffer  terribly  unless  they 
went  back.  The  rest  remained  true  to  their  salt. 
The  simple  narrative  of  the  Chinese  regiment  during 
1900,  which  has  been  published,  will  have  shown 
how  much  can  be  effected  by  Englishmen  with  the 
Chinese  if  they  are  only  left  to  themselves,  and  are 
unhampered  by  palsied  British  diplomacy. 

With  these  thoughts  in  my  head,  I engaged  in 
conversation  with  one  of  the  tall  Shantung  police- 
men, who,  armed  with  a truncheon,  perform  the 
policing  of  most  of  the  streets  under  the  fatherly  eye 
of  German  officialdom.  My  man  confessed  that 
things  were  much  better  now  than  they  had  been  in 
the  beginning,  and  that  German  ideas  had  been 
greatly  changed  by  the  seven  years’  experience  at 
Tsingtao.  But  he  added  that  it  was  still  far  too 
strict,  although  orders  to  conciliate  everybody  had 
been  most  directly  given.  Everybody  was  still 
saying  the  same  things  about  the  Germans. 

A year  ago  the  agent  of  one  of  the  biggest  steel- 
tool  concerns  in  Alsace-Lorraine,  who  had  been  in 
Port  Arthur  and  Harbin  booking  large  orders, 
told  me  that  he  had  received  instructions  to  in- 
vestigate what  prospects  there  were  for  establishing 
a Far  Eastern  factory.  So  he  had  gone  to  Tsingtao 
and  interviewed  the  Governor.  The  Governor  had 
warmly  welcomed  him  and  had  pointed  out  that 
Tsingtao  was  the  ideal  spot  for  the  founding  of  such 
an  enterprise  as  the  agent  had  in  view.  It  was  a 
free  port;  it  was  situated  directly  in  the  middle  of 


XIV  TSINGTAO  AND  THE  KIACHOW  TERRITORY  333 


the  Far  East,  and  could  supply  not  only  China,  but 
Manchuria,  Korea,  Eastern  Siberia,  and  even  Japan 
with  tools.  And  then  the  Governor  had  added  that 
German  labour  could  be  obtained  here  very  cheaply. 
All  the  time-expired  men  of  the  Colonial  troops 
could  be  induced  to  stay,  or  even  made  to  stay  here; 
for  the  Government  would  give  them  very  attractive 
conditions  in  order  to  have  such  a reserve  force  on 
the  spot.  The  agent,  who  was  an  astute  Hebrew, 
smiled  and  remarked  that  the  idea  was  worth  think- 
ing about;  but  since  then  he  has  been  going  about 
asking  how,  in  Heaven’s  name,  a factory  manned  by 
white  men  could  ever  pay  in  an  Eastern  country. 

The  German  Government  has,  therefore,  yet  to 
learn  that  white  labour  is  absolutely  impossible  where 
the  population  is  other  than  European.  At  best, 
the  European  can  play  at  overseeing  in  the  East, 
and  will  be  controlled  entirely  by  the  men  he  thinks 
he  is  ruling.  Until  the  Kaiser’s  Government 
realises  all  this,  its  plans  will  continue  to  be  illusory; 
but  once  it  has  realised  this,  the  idea  of  a military-  • 
controlled  Colony  will  have  been  so  modified  that 
there  will  be  but  little  left  on  which  to  build  the 
hopes  which  now  animate  a people  who  are  mere 
beginners  in  the  handling  of  Eastern  problems. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  COLONY  OF  KIACHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN 
PROGRAMME 

In  the  autumn  of  1897  two  German  missionaries 
belonging  to  the  mission  of  Bishop  Anzer  (a  German 
priest  of  the  Church  militant,  who  would  confound 
the  earthly  with  the  heavenly  to  serve  his  Govern- 
ment) were  foully  murdered  in  the  province  of 
Shantung.  Bishop  Anzer  conferred  with  Baron  von 
Heyking,  the  German  Minister  in  Peking.  Baron 
von  Heyking  had  his  instructions  immediately  tele- 
graphed from  Berlin,  ordering  him  to  press  for  the 
fullest  and  most  exacting  reparations  on  the  part  of 
China  and  to  be  satisfied  with  nothing.  (All  this 
was  shown  in  the  archives  of  the  old  Tsung-li 
Yamen,  investigated  by  inquisitive  eyes  in  1900.) 
On  the  14th  November  of  the  same  year  a German 
squadron  suddenly  put  into  Kiaochow  Bay,  landed 
a strong  detachment  of  sailors,  and  hoisted  the 
German  flag.  On  the  6th  March,  1898,  the  Kiao- 
chow Convention,  with  its  supplementary  railway 
and  mining  concessions,  was  signed  in  Peking,  and 
Germany  by  a display  of  force  had  driven  her  first 


334 


CH.  XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  335 


wedge  into  the  decaying  Chinese  structure.  This  is 
the  first  outward  aspect  of  the  Kiaochow  affair. 

The  five  articles  of  the  Chino- German  Convention 
contain  the  usual  stipulations.  Article  ist  states 
that  the  Emperor  of  China,  being  apparently  desir- 
ous of  preserving  peace  with  the  German  Emperor, 
and  of  promoting  German  power  and  influence  in 
the  Far  East,  sanctions  the  acquirement  under  a lease- 
form  of  one  hundred  li  of  land  at  Kiaochow.  Article 
2nd  fixes  the  leasing  period  for  a term  of  ninety- 
nine  years,  and  gives  Germany  the  right  to  erect  forts 
and  to  build  dockyards  so  as  to  promote  the  interests 
of  her  newly  acquired  coaling-station.  Article  3rd 
defines  the  exact  boundaries.  Article  4th  deals 

with  lighthouses  and  beacons  and  the  dues  which 
may  be  collected  on  all  vessels  for  their  maintenance; 
and,  finally.  Article  5th  contains  inter  alia  the 
procedure  to  be  adopted  in  the  very  hypothetical 
case  of  Germany  deciding  to  give  up  her  lease  before 
the  expiry  of  the  said  ninety-nine  years.  The  cautious 
Teuton  thus  made  every  arrangement  to  wriggle 
out,  should  he  be  forced  to  do  so  by  events. 

Continuing  in  the  same  strain,  the  four  articles  of 
the  railway  and  mining  concession,  which  is  an 
appendix  to  the  Murder  Convention,  concede  every- 
thing to  Germany  which  she  can  possibly  think  of  — 
the  main  railway  line  to  the  capital  of  Shantung 
with  certain  branch  lines  being  the  most  important 
concession  — and  leave  China  in  a most  ridiculous 
and  helpless  position.  Indeed,  the  whole  of  the  text 
of  the  four  articles  is  taken  up  with  defining  the 


336  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


Shantung  railway  and  mining  monopoly  in  such  a 
manner  that  no  one  could  possibly  think  of  tamper- 
ing with  Shantung  under  pain  of  incurring  Germany’s 
most  Imperial  displeasure ; for  the  concluding 
paragraph  of  the  final  article  states  explicitly  that 
^'if  at  any  time  the  Chinese  should  form  schemes 
for  the  development  of  Shantung,  for  the  execution 
of  which  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  foreign  capital,  the 
Chinese  Government,  or  whatever  Chinese  may  be 
interested  in  such  schemes,  shall,  in  the  first  instance, 
apply  to  German  capitalists.”  Only  when  neither 
the  German  Government  nor  German  capitalists 
will  look  at  a scheme  is  China  graciously  permitted 
to  do  as  she  pleases  in  her  own  territory;  and  thus 
no  loophole  is  left  to  an  unfortunate  mandarinate  to 
meet  intrigue  with  the  counter-intrigue  in  which  the 
East  so  excels. 

Thus,  within  half-a-year  of  the  opportune  deaths 
of  the  two  missionaries,  Germany  had  succeeded  in 
making  China  pay  the  heaviest  price  ever  demanded 
by  a foreign  Power  in  the  Far  East  for  the  class  of 
unfortunate  incident  which  will  continue  to  arise  so 
long  as  unwise  missionaries  irritate  the  inhabitants 
of  the  country  by  their  importunities. 

The  German  action,  however,  although  the 
Chinese  Convention  shows  no  trace  of  it,  was  not 
brought  to  a successful  conclusion  without  consider- 
able risk  and  worry.  For  a variety  of  reasons 
everybody  in  the  Far  East  was  very  much  upset  by 
the  new  departure;  but  once  it  had  become  clear 
that  England  was  really  a negligible  quantity  — as 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  337 


the  Port  Arthur  incident  soon  actually  showed  — the 
rest  was  not  very  hard  to  arra'nge.  But  to  see 
things  in  their  proper  light  it  is  necessary  to  digress 
a little  and  show  the  German  attitude  regarding 
things  which  are  equally  important. 

In  1895  the  Japanese  war  had  ended.  In  April 
of  that  year  Japan  had  demanded  and  obtained 
from  China  the  cession  of  the  Liaotung  peninsula. 
A month  later,  Russia,  France,  and  Germany,  by  a 
display  of  force  and  a peremptory  Note,  had  induced 
Japan  to  retrocede  this  territory.  Japan  had  turned 
to  England  in  her  distress,  but  the  British  Ministry 
had  quite  rightly  refused  to  support  the  Japanese 
action  in  Manchuria,  perhaps  mainly  because  the 
important  port  of  Newchwang,  opened  by  British 
treaty  and  entirely  controlled  by  Englishmen  and 
British  commerce,  was  included  in  the  ceded  Liaotung 
districts.  Japan,  thus  isolated,  was  powerless,  and 
was  forced  to  give  way  unconditionally.  For  more 
than  a year  after  these  important  events  nothing 
much  was  heard  of.  Japan  was  occupied  in  with- 
drawing her  troops ; China  was  attempting  to  re- 
arrange her  disorganised  affairs. 

Then  in  the  autumn  of  1896  the  world  was 
startled  by  the  publication  of  the  Cassini  Conven- 
tion. It  is  necessary  to  discuss  here  this  greatly 
debated  instrument  which  is  in  every  way  the 
master-document  of  all  the  wonderful  series  of 
protocols,  treaties,  conventions,  and  concessions 
which  succeeded  one  another  with  such  rapidity  in 
the  years  after  the  Japanese  war,  and  completely 

VOL.  I — Z 


338  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


altered  the  balance  of  power  in  the  Far  East.  I 
have  already  elsewhere  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  question  of  whether  the  Cassini  Convention  was 
signed,  sealed,  and  delivered,  or  whether,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  was  merely  a Memorandum  filed  with 
the  Chinese  Government  in  proof-form  in  order  to 
secure  certain  rights  of  pre-emption  when  the  time 
was  ripe  for  action,  is  really  in  itself  unimportant. 
And  in  any  case  this  convention  was  never  ratified. 
The  important  part  is  undoubtedly  the  fact  that 
China  did  consider  herself  under  certain  obligations 
to  the  chief  Power  of  the  triplicate  which  obtained 
the  restoration  of  the  ceded  Liaotung  territory;  and 
that,  although  she  was  not  prepared  to  say  how  far 
she  would  go  in  the  matter  of  repayment,  she 
allowed  it  to  be  clearly  understood  that  in  the  event 
of  certain  eventualities  arising  she  would  make  good 
all  claims  lodged  against  her.  The  Cassini  Conven- 
tion, therefore,  denounced  by  both  parties  on  account 
of  its  premature  publication,  was  shelved  for  the 
time  being,  and  the  Muscovite  diplomatists  exhausted 
their  inexhaustible  ingenuity  in  devising  new  docu- 
ments which,  whilst  not  so  sweeping  in  their  pro- 
visions, would  give  effect  to  the  most  important 
clauses  of  the  Cassini  Memorandum  in  a somewhat 
different  way  {vide  the  Russo-Chinese  Manchurian 
Railway  Agreement  of  September,  1896,  and  its 
secret  clauses). 

So  far  as  the  German  action  at  Kiaochow  was 
concerned,  the  Cassini  Convention  had  the  highest 
importance.  If  the  convention  was  at  heart  re- 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  339 


garded  by  the  two  high  contracting  parties  as  a bona 
fide  instrument,  then  Germany  would  find  herself 
immediately  in  opposition  to  Russia.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  was  a mere  trial-balloon,  a compact 
might  still  be  arranged  which  would  have  the 
highest  importance  in  the  future.  So  the  German 
men-of-war  steamed  bravely  enough  into  Kiaochow 
Bay  and  awaited  the  upshot  of  it  all. 

But  it  has  not  yet  been  explained  in  what  manner 
the  German  programme  clashed  with  the  Russian; 
and  as  very  few  people  carry  treaty  provisions  con- 
cerning Far  Eastern  affairs  in  their  heads,  it  is 
necessary  to  quote  in  extenso  paragraph  9 of  His 
Excellency  Cassini’s  Peking  proposals.  The  passage 
runs: 

“Russia  has  never  possessed  a sea-port  in 
Asia  which  is  free  from  ice  and  open  all  the  year 
round.  If,  therefore,  there  should  suddenly  arise 
military  operations  in  this  Continent,  it  will  naturally 
be  difficult  for  the  Russian  Eastern  seas  and  Pacific 
fleets  to  move  about  freely  and  at  pleasure.  As 
China  is  well  aware  of  this,  she  is  willing  to  lease 
temporarily  to  Russia  the  port  of  Kiaochow,  in  the 
province  of  Shantung,  the  period  of  such  lease 
being  fifteen  years.  At  the  end  of  this  period 
China  shall  buy  back  all  the  barracks,  godowns, 
machine-shops,  and  docks  built  by  Russia  during 
her  occupation  of  the  said  port.  But  should  there 
be  no  danger  of  military  operations,  Russia  shall 
not  enter  immediately  into  possession  of  the  said 
post  in  order  to  obviate  the  chance  of  exciting  the 


340  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  CH. 


jealousy  and  suspicion  of  the  other  Powers.  With 
reference  to  the  amount  of  rent  and  the  way  it  is  to 
be  paid,  this  shall  form  the  subject  of  consideration 
in  another  protocol  at  some  future  date.’^ 

This  remarkable  paragraph  has  been  too  little 
noticed  by  students  of  the  Far  Eastern  imbroglio; 
for  in  this  clause  may  be  found  the  root  of  the  pre- 
sent Russo- German  entente  in  the  Far  East,  and 
it  may  lead  in  the  future  to  some  little-expected 
developments. 

Surveying  the  whole  Cassini  document,  we  find 
that  the  eight  opening  paragraphs  deal  entirely  with 
Russian  privileges  in  the  matter  of  the  Manchurian 
railway.  We  find  also  that  Russia’s  original  idea 
was  far  short  of  what  has  been  executed.  Ultimately 
Russia  made  Vladivostock  in  the  extreme  East,  and 
Port  Arthur  in  the  extreme  South,  the  main  ob- 
jectives by  following  the  straightest  possible  route, 
i.e.  by  building  the  trans-Manchurian  and  Central 
Manchurian  lines  as  they  to-day  stand.  But  the 
first  project  was  merely  to  secure  the  right  of  financ- 
ing and  building  the  lines  which  China  had  already 
planned  from  Shanhaikwan  via  Newchwang  to 
Moukden,  and  from  Moukden  to  Kirin.  To  these 
was  to  be  added  a purely  Russian^  section  and  a 
branch^  which  would  meet  the  Chinese  lines  at 
Kirin,  and  thus  make  Kirin  Manchuria’s  provincial 
capital,  the  Harbin  of  the  country.  In  other  words, 
Russia  was  in  the  first  instance  prepared  to  build,  or 


1 Vladivostock-Hungchun-Kirin. 

^ Stretensk-Aigun-Tsitsihan-Kirin. 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  341 


help  China  to  build,  the  railways  she  needed  in 
Manchuria  in  the  way  China  desired  to  construct 
them ; and  was  content  merely  to  connect  trans- 
Baikalia  and  the  Pacific  province  by  short  lines  with 
her  own  system  — the  great  Siberian  railway.  This 
explains  and  makes  clear  the  purport  of  paragraph 
9 above  quoted,  and  of  paragraphs  10  and  ii 
which,  following  the  Kiaochow  clause,  deal  with 
Port  Arthur  and  Talienwan.  Kiaochow  was  to 
have  been  the  main  Russian  naval  base  in  the  China 
seas,  with  Port  Arthur  and  Talienwan  re-fortified  as 
purely  Chinese  places  under  Russian  protection  — it 
being  always  supposed  that  China  was  to  be  hence- 
forth the  bosom  ally  of  the  Empire  of  Muscovy. 

Previous  to  the  entry  of  German  warships  into 
Kiaochow  Bay  in  November,  1897,  is  on  clear 
record  that  two  Russian  squadrons  visited  these 
waters ; but,  finding  that  the  anchorage  was  bad 
and  that  there  was  nothing  of  importance  in  the 
vicinity,  they  are  stated  to  have  reported  unfavour- 
ably on  this  harbour  and  thus  delayed  Russian 
action.  A mere  chance  may  therefore  be  said  to 
have  determined  that  Germany  and  not  Russia 
should  be  in  the  leased  territory  of  Kiaochow  to-day 
— a chance  which  may  one  day  sway  down  the  scales 
in  the  East. 

When  Germany  suddenly  put  landing-parties  on 
shore  and  hoisted  her  flag  over  the  Bay,  the 
Russians  were  not  only  completely  taken  by  surprise, 
as  indeed  they  often  are,  but  in  addition  they  were 
very  much  enraged.  For,  in  the  first  instance,  Kiao- 


342  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


chow  in  lower  Shantung  was  chosen  by  Russia  not  so 
much  to  escape  the  ice-blocked  coasts  of  lower 
Liaotung  as  in  order  to  have  a base  giving  out  on 
to  the  open  seas,  i.e.  the  Yellow  Sea,  far  from  the 
shut-in  gulfs  of  Pechili  and  Korea,  and  with  no  con- 
venient island-groups  near  by  offering  temporary 
bases  to  an  enemy.  In  other  words,  on  paper  Russia 
had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  (for  a short  time  at 
least)  that  her  sea-power  must  exist  independently 
of  her  land-power,  and  that  she  would  be  taking  the 
first  step  towards  that  consummation  by  having  a 
naval  base  as  detached  from  all  home  support,  as,  for 
instance,  Hongkong  is  from  England.  This  is  a not 
uninteresting  point.  The  very  laxity  with  which  the 
Cassini  Convention  was  drawn,  up  — in  language  ex- 
pressing the  general  desires  of  the  St.  Petersburg 
Foreign  Office  rather  than  a cut-and-dried  plan  which 
would  be  inflexibly  put  into  execution  when  the  time 
arrived  — was  possibly  responsible  for  the  fact  that 
one  of  the  first  goals,  an  absolutely  ice-free  port 
giving  on  to  the  open  sea,  was  somewhat  lost  sight 
of;  and  perhaps  for  this  reason,  when  the  uproar 
caused  by  the  publication  of  the  whole  instrument 
had  subsided,  the  Manchurian  Railway  Convention,^ 
dealing  only  with  the  trans-Baikal  to  Vladivostock 
railway,  was  substituted.  As  usual,  Russian  pro- 
crastination had  had  its  inevitable  result,  and  the 
St.  Petersburg  bureaucrats  woke  up  one  fine  morning 
in  November  to  find  that  Germany  had  quietly  fore- 
stalled them  at  Kiaochow  before  they  had  been  able 

1 i.e.  The  Russo-Chinese  Bank  agreement  of  September,  1896. 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  343 


to  make  up  their  own  minds  whether  the  Shantung 
port  could  or  could  not  be  converted  into  a first-class 
naval  base ; and  they  perceived  Germany  would 
probably  not  retreat.  For  the  explanation  which 
follows  I am  partly  indebted  to  Prince  Henry  of 
Prussia,  who  was  pleased  to  tell  the  story  in  a German 
Club  during  his  excursion  to  the  East  six  years  ago. 

The  first  impulse  of  the  Russians  was  to  warn 
Germany  peremptorily  that  unless  she  promptly 
evacuated  Kiaochow  unfortunate  results  might  take 
place.  But  Russians  seldom  yield  to  first  impulses, 
knowing  how  bad  is  the  judgment  of  emotional 
natures.  Instead  of  this,  Russia  instructed  China  to 
block  the  negotiations  with  Germany  which  were 
then  taking  place  (they  continued  for  twelve  weeks 
at  Peking  before  the  lease  was  signed),  but  to 
be  careful  not  to  bring  about  a rupture.  Meanwhile 
in  Europe  the  Czar’s  Ministers  addressed  a series  of 
Notes  couched  in  a sharp  tone  of  remonstrance  to 
the  German  Government,  notes  which  must  have 
been  marvels  of  ingenuity,  seeing  that  Russia  had 
openly  disavowed  the  entire  transactions  of  Count 
Cassini,  and  could  not  therefore  calmly  turn  round 
and  claim  that  Kiaochow  was  Russian  — at  least  so 
far  as  a definite  agreement  with  the  Chinese 
Government  was  concerned.  It  was  when  things 
were  in  this  stage  that  one  of  those  memorable 
meetings  between  Kaiser  and  Czar  took  place.  The 
German  Emperor,  well  posted  on  Far  Eastern  affairs 
as  he  is  on  every  question  of  the  day,  is  credited 
with  having  brought  the  whole  matter  to  a success- 


344  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


ful  conclusion  in  one  long  afternoon’s  talk,  and  in 
turning  all  danger  of  a conflict  with  Russia  over  this 
question  into  a close  understanding,  the  results  of 
which  may  to-day  be  seen.  What  the  exact  nature 
of  the  arrangements  made  were,  it  would  be  pre- 
sumptuous to  state;  but  a study  of  events,  docu- 
ments, and  dates  allows  one  to  arrive  at  a reason- 
able conclusion.  The  occupation  of  Port  Arthur  by 
an  insignificant  fleet  of  Russian  warships,  following 
soon  after  the  landing  of  the  German  detachment  at 
Kiaochow,  shows  that  Germany  must  have  said  in 
simple  language  to  Russia:  — ‘‘We  occupied  Kiao- 
chow because  we  desired  reparation  and  a coaling- 
station.  We  understood  that  the  Cassini  Conven- 
tion was  simply  a ballon  d^essai  and  not  a permanent 
arrangement.  A year  and  more  had  passed  since 
its  publication  and  denouncement,  and  you  took  no 
steps  to  carry  out  its  main  provisions.  Therefore 
we  were  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  you  had  re- 
considered your  position.  It  is  perhaps  best  so. 
For  we  cannot  and  do  not  intend  to  retreat;  we 
have  important  interests  in  the  Far  East  which  must 
be  consolidated,  and  until  those  interests  are  con- 
solidated it  will  be  in  vain  for  you,  a single  Power, 
to  attempt  to  combat  the  one  country  which  monopo- 
lises Far  Eastern  commerce  and  which  can  there- 
fore still  influence  all  against  you.  We  must  com- 
bine. Russia’s  true  objectives  are  ice-free  ports 
connected  by  rail  with  her  own  territory.  Your 
strength  is  in  your  many  millions,  and  your  strength 
must  be  shown  more  on  land  than  on  sea.  Take 


The  Guveknok  of  Siiantun(;  ueinc;  entertained  at  Tsingiao. 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  345 


the  end  of  the  Liaotung  peninsula;  connect  Port 
Arthur  and  Talienwan  with  your  trans-Manchurian, 
Baikal- Vladivostock  railway  by  the  straightest 
possible  route,  and  you  will  be  in  a position  you 
could  never  hope  to  occupy  by  seizing  a detached 
base  such  as  Kiaochow.’’ 

A comparison  of  the  Kiaochow  Leasing  Conven- 
tion signed  on  the  6th  March,  1898,  and  the  Port 
Arthur  and  Talienwan  Convention  signed  27  th 
March  of  the  same  year,  makes  the  logic  of  what 
has  been  written  unanswerable.  The  substitution  in 
the  Russian  leasing  agreement  of  a vigorous  and 
definite  language  in  place  of  the  vague  and  irresolute 
phrasing  of  the  Cassini  instrument  must  be  directly 
attributed  to  German  influence  and  to  the  use  of 
German  models;  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Man- 
churian railways  became  purely  strategic  lines  going 
straight  to  their  true  objectives  is  very  enlightening. 
But  most  important  of  all,  the  new  idea  of  leasing 
territory  must  be  set  down  as  a purely  German  idea 
— a manifestation  of  the  policy  of  the  Mailed  Fist. 
An  extension  of  the  English  principle  (adopted  in 
China  for  purely  commercial  reasons)  of  Settlements 
or  Concessions  where  the  rights  of  extra-territoriality 
are  exercised,  it  makes  the  leased  territory  virtually 
become  part  and  parcel  of  the  lessee  Power’s  own 
dominions.  The  Russians  had  previously  only 
demanded  ^^to  share”  territory  with  Eastern  Powers, 
and  in  this  connection  instances  will  be  given  later 
on.  The  ninety-nine  years’  lease  is  purely  German, 
and  far  too  definite  and  business-like  for  Russians. 


346  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


So  that  there  should  be  no  mistake  about  the  new 
German  attitude,  and  that  the  full  importance  of  the 
move  should  be  given  and  realised  all  over  the 
world,  the  Kaiser’s  naval  brother.  Prince  Henry  of 
Prussia,  set  sail  for  China  at  the  head  of  a strong 
squadron  and,  arriving  in  Shanghai  in  April,  1898, 
proceeded  at  once  to  Peking,  where  he  was  accorded 
a personal  interview  with  the  Emperor  of  China. 
This  closed  the  first  chapter  of  the  German  expan- 
sionist movement  in  the  Far  East,  and  discloses 
beyond  a doubt  how  the  Russian  advance  was 
intended  to  synchronise  with  the  German  advance  — 
both  of  which  were  to  spell  ultimately  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  British  position  east  of  Singapore  and 
the  forcing  of  Japan  into  an  attitude  more  adapted 
to  the  ambitions  of  Continental  Powers. 

Turning  now  to  a direct  consideration  of  the 
colony  of  Kiaochow,  it  must  be  conceded  that  much 
has  been  done  in  the  seven  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  the  German  squadron  steamed  into 
the  Bay  and  planted  the  Kaiser’s  colours.  At  a 
total  expenditure  of  some  eighty  million  marks,  or 
;^4,ooo,ooo,  an  inner  harbour  has  been  constructed 
and  the  work  on  the  main  harbour  much  advanced; 
five  formidable  forts  have  been  completed  and  the 
building  of  seven  others  commenced;  machine  shops 
and  military  depots  erected  in  large  numbers ; 
barracks  built  capable  of  housing  5,000  men;  and 
slowly,  methodically,  and  with  infinite  caution,  ob- 
served (in  the  curious  words  of  the  Cassini  Conven- 
tion dealing  with  this  place)  ^To  obviate  the  chance 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  347 


of  exciting  the  jealousy  and  suspicion  of  other 
Powers/’  the  present  garrison  has  been  raised  to 
over  3,000  men  in  place  of  the  former  600  men  of 
the  See  battalion.  And  in  two  years  this  garrison 
will  be  increased  to  5,000  men;  and  within  a decade 
from  now  it  will  be  the  most  strongly  held  and  the 
best -fortified  place  owned  by  any  European  Power 
in  the  Far  East.  In  addition  to  this,  these  four 
million  sterling  have  already  allowed  a model  town 
to  be  built  up,  a town  which,  if  it  has  not  all  the 
commercial  activity  which  could  be  desired,  is  still 
the  best-built  in  China.  The  Germans  are  thus  not 
making  the  mistake  of  separating  the  commercial 
and  the  military  from  one  another  as  the  Russians 
did  with  Port  Arthur  and  Dalny.  Both  are  merged 
into  one  powerful  whole. 

So  little  was  known  about  this  corner  of  Shantung 
that  Kiaochow,  which  is  a native  city  nearly  two  score 
miles  higher  up  the  Bay,  was  the  name  under  which 
the  present  colony  was  generally  known  all  over  the 
Far  East  for  some  years.  Lately,  however,  the 
increasing  importance  of  the  place  has  allowed  the 
German  name  of  the  town  (which  is  the  incorrect 
transliteration  of  the  Chinese  characters  Ch’ing  Tao) 
to  be  substituted,  and  therefore  Tsingtao  is  the 
name  of  the  port,  and  Kiaochow  that  of  the  whole 
leased  territory  belonging  to  the  colony.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1898,  the  port  was  made  a free  port,  and  Sir 
Robert  Hart’s  Custom  House  now  functions  here 
in  the  same  way  as  it  does  at  Hongkong  — that  is, 
merely  as  a convenience  to  merchants,  whose  imports 


348  KL\OCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


and  exports  all  either  go  to  or  come  from  the 
Chinese  hinterland,  and  are  therefore  liable  to  a 
duty-levy  which  can  be  more  easily  dealt  with  at  the 
time  of  discharge  or  shipment  (as  the  case  may  be) 
than  when  the  Chinese  land-frontier  is  passed. 

As  has  already  been  stated,  this  town  of  Tsingtao, 
on  which  part  of  the  Berlin  millions  have  been 
spent,  is  excellently  well  laid  out.  The  streets  are 
broad  and  admirable,  and  provided  with  sidewalks 
of  noble  dimensions.  Electricity  lights  all  the  town, 
and  a complete  water-supply  system  has  been  in- 
stalled. There  are  good  hotels  and  passable  shops, 
a splendid  parade  ground  and  fine  military  roads 
darting  everywhere  into  the  country.  Tsingtao  is 
an  unique  creation  in  the  Far  East,  for  whereas  all 
other  places,  except  where  the  Russian  has  been, 
have  grown  up  to  their  present  importance  owing  to 
a prolific  commerce  between  Europeans  and  Chinese 
(witness  Hongkong  and  the  big  British-opened 
treaty  ports  of  Shanghai,  Hankow,  and  Tientsien), 
Tsingtao  is  purely  artificial,  and  is  intent  on 
creating  a trade  which  will  be  for  many  decades  a 
somewhat  unnatural  one,  and  only  possible  because 
a Government  and  “Colonists”  have  disbursed  large 
sums  of  money  raised  in  Berlin,  and  are  continuing 
to  do  so  on  an  ever  increasing  scale.  The  budget 
of  Kiaochow  Colony  is  proof  of  that. 

In  1904  the  total  estimate  was  13,088,300  marks, 
or,  say,  £650,000  sterling,  of  which  the  Imperial 
German  Treasury  contributed  12,583,000  marks, 
and  the  Colony’s  own  revenues  only  505,300  marks. 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  349 


For  the  year  1905,  the  total  estimate  is  15,296,000 
marks,  or  an  increase  of  over  ;£ioo,ooo  on  the 
previous  year,  towards  which  the  colony’s  own 
revenues  only  contribute  a total  of  636,000  marks. 
Divided  into  an  ordinary  and  an  extraordinary 
expenditure,  calculations  show  that  the  colony’s 
revenue,  raised  by  local  taxation,  amounts  only  to 
slightly  over  10  per  cent,  of  the  ordinary  disburse- 
ments ; while  the  extraordinary  expenditure,  which 
for  1905  is  nearly  half  a million  sterling,  and  has 
been  growing  steadily  larger  and  larger  every  year, 
shows  that,  as  this  so-called  extraordinary  budget 
will  be  really  a recurring  expenditure  for  many 
years  to  come,  even  the  most  optimistic  empire- 
builders  in  Germany’s  capital  cannot  hope  that 
the  colony  will  become  self-supporting  whilst  the 
present  generation  of  strenuous  colonists  lives. 
Indeed  it  seems  probable  that  the  colony  can  never 
be  self-supporting. 

But  the  extraordinary  budget  tells  its  own  story 
in  figures  more  eloquently  than  any  writing  could 
do.  The  harbour  works  take  3,473,000  marks; 
other  public  works,  1,964,000  marks;  dwelling 
houses,  100,000  marks;  afforestation,  80,000  marks; 
lighthouses,  40,000  marks;  fortifications,  2,500,000 
marks;  the  floating  dock,  1,100,000  marks.  The 
fortifications,  the  harbour,  and  the  dock  will  not 
be  finished  for  many  years  to  come.  And  at  the 
same  time  the  ordinary  expenditure  is  a further 
argument.  Civil  administration  is  1,101,693  marks; 
military  administration  2,711,897  marks;  and  joint 


350  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


expenses  (the  meaning  of  this  is  not  explained) 
amounts  to  2,192,531  marks.  This  critical  examina- 
tion establishes  two  facts : that  a splendidly  built 
and  carefully  protected  harbour  with  floating  and 
granite  docks  is  to  be  the  seed  which  will  slowly 
expand  into  a beautiful  Imperial  tree  on  which 
you  may  hang  an  Eastern  world-policy  of  a most 
astonishing  character ; and  secondly,  that  an  im- 
mensely strong  system  of  fortification  will,  within 
ten  years,  make  Tsingtao  a fortress  more  secure 
from  attack  than  Port  Arthur,  because  there  will 
be  no  cramping  and  want  of  space.  By  the  end 
of  1905  nearly  one  hundred  million  marks,  or 
five  millions  sterling,  will  have  been  expended  on 
Tsingtao;  by  1915  or  1916,  when  the  German 
naval  programme  will  have  been  completed  and 
the  Kaiser’s  Navy  will  dispose  of  forty  modern 
battleships  and  a host  of  powerful  cruisers,  Tsingtao 
will  have  swallowed  up  fifteen  millions  sterling  and 
be  in  a position  to  justify  its  existence  as  a first- 
class  fortress  and  a far  better  protected  naval  base 
than  ever  was  Port  Arthur  — for  whose  birth  it  was 
responsible. 

But  in  order  to  insure  that  the  paternal  Berlin 
Government  shall  be  recouped  as  much  as  possible 
for  the  colossal  expenditure  it  is  deliberately  under- 
taking, the  colonists  (as  they  are  pleased  to  call 
themselves)-  are  to  contribute  increased  taxes  as 
the  value  of  their  holdings  in  real  estate  and 
other  immovable  property  appreciates  owing  to 
the  “betterments”  in  harbour  works,  wharfing 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  351 


accommodation,  railway  building,  etc.,  introduced 
by  either  the  Government  or  by  semi- Government 
undertakings.  Thus  a system  of  unearned  incre- 
ments is  already  in  force  which  provides  for  a 
periodic  and  rigid  re-assessment  of  all  property  — 
the  rate  of  taxation  on  the  artificially  inflated  value 
of  rentals  being  extremely  heavy.  In  this  way, 
and  with  the  help  of  mine-earnings  and  railway 
earnings,  which  of  course  will  contribute,  the 
paternal  Government  really  hopes  at  some  distant 
date  to  make  Tsingtao  self-supporting  — a hope 
which,  if  the  present  feeling  among  the  “colonists” 
is  any  index  of  the  future,  would  appear  to  be 
an  optimism  only  entertained  to  allay  the  appre- 
hensions of  the  German  socialists  and  their  ener- 
getic leader,  Herr  Bebel. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  Tsingtao  and 
the  Kiaochow  Colony  are  but  the  first  links  in  a 
great  chain,  links  that  are  being  forged  now  whilst 
others  more  essential  are  left  untouched,  because 
metal  has  first  been  taken  from  the  place  of  least 
resistance  — which  at  the  present  stage  of  the  world’s 
history  is  China.  From  Kiaochow  the  peaceful 
campaign  against  China  can  be  very  conveniently 
directed.  Already  the  railway  to  the  Shantung 
provincial  capital  — a railway  of  more  than  400  kilo- 
metres — has  been  completed  and  is  in  first-class 
working  order;  already  two  coal-mines  are  turning 
out  coal  in  increasing  quantities,  and  other  mines 
are  being  opened  up.  In  the  summer  of  1904  I 
met  German  engineers  at  Kaifengfu  who  had  com- 


352  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


pleted  the  survey  from  Chinanfu  to  the  Honan 
capital  — a distance  of  400  kilometres  — and  who 
were  leaving  for  home  and  not  coming  back  until 
the  Russians  had  beaten  or  exhausted  the  Japanese.’^ 
In  Tientsien  it  was  the  same  story  — the  survey  of 
the  Tientsien-Chinanfu  railway  completed,  and  being 
already  pushed  down  far  south  into  Kiangsu  pro- 
vince on  the  way  to  the  Yangtsze.  Nor  is  this  all. 
The  Germans  have  surveyed  the  Chefoo-Laichoufu 
districts  and  are  quite  prepared  to  link  them  up 
with  Tsingtao,  in  the  hope  that  such  a course  would 
kill  Chefoo  and  its  importance  to  British  trade,  and 
drive  all  traffic  and  commerce  to  the  Kaiser-port. 
Not  only  this,  but  it  is  well  known  in  all  circles  in 
North  China  that  a determined  attempt  had  been 
going  on  for  many  months  to  secure  the  reversion 
of  the  entire  Tientsien  to  Chinkiang  trunk  line,  which 
will  connect  the  Yangtsze  with  North  China  via 
the  Shantung  provincial  capital.  This,  according 
to  the  insane  arrangement  of  1898,  entered  into 
before  German  plans  in  the  Far  East  were  properly 
understood,  was  to  be  a joint  Anglo- German 
venture,  the  northern  half  being  built  by  Germans 
and  the  southern  or  Yangtsze  section  by  the  British. 
The  year  1900  gave  this  venture  the  cold  douche, 
and  the  Bagdad  railway  affair  was  the  death-blow; 
since  then,  joint  iVnglo- German  negotiations  have 
been  practically  suspended,  whilst  the  Germans 
have  been  independently  plotting  and  planning  to 
secure  the  whole  line.  That  is  why  the  surveys 
have  already  been  carried  out.  What  with  the 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  353 


Anglo- German  Salisbury  Convention,  which  insists 
on  the  open-door  in  China  being  kept  open  so  that 
Germany  may  slip  in  when  she  is  ready  and  slam 
it  behind  her;  the  half-assurance  the  Germans  ob- 
tained from  the  Chinese  before  evacuating  Shanghai, 
that  the  Yangtsze  would  never  be  alienated  to  a 
foreign  Power  without  first  consulting  them ; the 
German  official  declaration  that  the  Salisbury  ar- 
rangement had  nothing  to  do  with  Manchuria;  the 
speech-making  of  youthful  Kaiser’s  sons  at  Hankow 
made  indiscreet  by  dining;  and  the  constant  utter- 
ances of  the  Berlin-led  Press;  — all  signs  make  it 
quite  clear  that  Germany  not  only  hopes  to  succeed 
England  in  China,  but  is  bent  on  a forcible  attempt 
if  such  a proceeding  is  possible.  Until  this  cardinal 
point  is  thoroughly  realised  and  always  insisted  on, 
English  statesmen  will  be  unable  to  understand  how 
it  is  that  influences  are  being  constantly  brought  to 
bear  which  have  an  adverse  effect  on  British  reputa- 
tion, whilst  on  the  surface  all  are  protesting  that 
they  are  quite  friendly  and  that  this  is  the  day  of 
gentle  arbitrations. 

But  more  must  be  said.  Downing  Street  has 
gone  out  of  its  way  to  promise  the  Berlin  Foreign 
Office  most  faithfully  that  we  will  never  link  up 
Weihaiwei  with  any  Chinese  railway  system,  and 
that  we  entirely  acknowledge  German  rights  in 
Shantung.  It  has  never  been  made  clear  what 
reasons  existed  for  making  either  of  these  state- 
ments, and  it  seems  impossible  to  reconcile  loud 
proclamations  of  the  vaunted  open-door  policy  in 


VOL.  I — 2 A 


354  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGR.\MME  ch. 


China  — which  means  the  eighteen  provinces,  Man- 
churia, Mongolia,  and  the  New  Dominion  — with 
private  admissions  made  the  next  moment  to  a 
European  Power  that  we  are  going  to  further,  to  the 
best  of  our  ability,  the  promotion  of  disintegrating 
schemes.  It  is  small  wonder  that  at  the  present 
moment  the  Chinese  Government  and  all  high 
Chinese  officials  of  weight  such  as  Yuan  Shih-kai, 
utterly  distrust  the  British  Government  and  resent 
the  manner  in  which  we  efface  ourselves  when  we 
might  be  of  great  help;  and  this  fact  in  a few  years 
will  seriously  undermine  the  extraordinarily  high 
position  that  British  merchantdom  occupies  in  the 
Far  East,  and  will  weaken  the  powerful  hold  that 
Anglo-Chinese  interests  have  on  the  whole  Empire. 

Turning  from  an  immediate  consideration  of 
Shantung  and  North  China,  much  the  same  state  of 
affairs  is  found  to-day  in  the  Yangtsze  valley.  The 
Germans  are  everywhere  asserting  themselves,  not 
in  legitimate  ways,  and  are  attempting  to  secure  for 
themselves  a position  which  neither  their  commerce 
nor  their  international  dealings  justify.  The  ques- 
tion which  arose  when  the  evacuation  of  Shanghai 
by  the  temporary  garrisons  of  1900  was  completed 
is  so  recent  that  it  will  be  still  fresh  in  people’s 
minds.  The  sublime  pretensions  then  exhibited 
excited  general  admiration  if  nothing  else.  That  a 
Power  which  a decade  ago  was  practically  unknown 
in  the  Far  East,  whose  commerce  even  to-day 
amounts  to  only  a sixth  of  England’s  in  China,  and 
whose  interests  in  Shanghai  were  at  most  a few  per 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  355 


cent,  compared  to  British  interests,  should  defy 
England  as  she  was  defied,  is  without  doubt  a pro- 
ceeding which  would  not  have  been  tolerated  by  any 
other  great  nation.  If  no  redress  was  then 

possible,  owing  to  South  Africa,  the  score  should 
have  been  written  up  on  the  wall  for  immediate 
reference  when  the  time  was  propitious  for  remem- 
bering. But  although  the  Germans  were  forced  to 
raze  the  semi-permanent  barracks  they  had  erected 
in  Shanghai,  they  have  not  hesitated  commencing 
the  construction  of  a great  German  Post  Office  in 
the  English  settlement  of  the  same  treaty  port,  from 
whence  will  be  directed  the  postal  campaign  whose 
only  object  is  not  to  facilitate  letter-carrying  — for 
the  Chinese  Imperial  Post  attends  to  that  with 
increasing  success  — but  simply  to  promote  German 
influence  by  opening  offices  all  over  China,  which 
not  only  complicate  matters  generally  but  defraud 
the  Chinese  administration  of  revenues  which  should 
be  available  for  improving  internal  communications. 
At  Tsingtao  the  German  railway  has  not  hesitated 
to  equip  Imperial  German  postal  cars,  which  travel 
up  to  Chinanfu,  and,  by  linking  the  line  of 
German  Post  Offices,  extended  along  the  German 
railway,  with  the  German  colony,  aim  thus  to  secure 
the  carrying  of  all  correspondence,  native  and 
foreign.  So  confident  did  the  German  postal 
authorities  become  a short  time  ago  that  they  began 
a rate-cutting  competition  against  the  Chinese  Post 
Office,  which  is  a very  new  development.  It  has 
been  left  until  now  for  a foreign  Power  to  go  into 


356  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


business  against  the  Government  of  a so-called 
friendly  country  in  its  own  territory  with  the  object 
of  annexing  internal  revenue.  But  Sir  Robert 
Hart  responded  after  the  manner  of  the  rate-cutting 
on  the  Atlantic:  all  the  native  postal  agency  bags 
were  carried  for  nothing,  and  the  cautious  German 
was  not  prepared  to  lose  money  deliberately  by 
offering  a premium. 

Thus  nothing  is  too  small  or  too  petty  for  a con- 
vincing welt-politik.  Not  content  with  being 
defeated  over  the  Shanghai  garrison  question,  the 
petty  postal  question,  and  numerous  other  little 
matters  too  trifling  to  be  mentioned,  the  Imperialists 
raised  trouble  again  over  the  conservancy  of  the 
Huang-pu,  which  is  Shanghai's  fast-silting  mud 
river.  The  peace  protocol  of  1901,  in  one  of  its 
numerous  annexes  which  have  all  proved  as  fatuous 
as  the  mighty  protocol  itself,  lays  down  the  exact 
procedure  to  be  adopted  for  the  formation  of  a local 
Conservancy  Board.  The  provisions  showed  on  a 
rough  calculation  that  England  with  her  friends  and 
allies  would  be  able  to  out-vote  the  Continent  of 
Europe,  w^hich  is  so  solid  against  Anglo-Saxondom 
in  the  Far  East.  Intrigue  with  the  Nanking 
Viceroy  succeeded  in  blocking  the  whole  scheme, 
and  whilst  months  have  grown  into  years  the 
German  Government,  in  conjunction  with  certain 
German  commercial  houses,  has  evolved  a scheme 
of  its  own,  and  is  still  hoping  that  it  may  be  given 
the  whole  undertaking,  alleging  that  it  will  do  the 
work  cheaper  than  anybody  else.  Fortunately  the 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  357 


German  plan  of  campaign  is  well  understood  by 
now  in  China,  and  steps  have  already  been  taken  to 
render  all  such  intriguing  abortive.  But  the  persis- 
tence of  these  various  attempts  is  so  remarkable 
that  it  is  high  time  that  Europe  should  know  what 
is  continually  going  on  sub  rosa  in  China. 

And  on  the  middle  Yangtsze  it  is  much  the  same 
story  as  in  the  Yangtsze  delta  — a constant  tale  of 
deliberate,  consistent  pushing  forward  in  any  pos- 
sible way.  No  method  is  too  mean,  nothing 
is  too  small  for  the  Berlin-Hamburg  wire-pullers. 
One  day  German  gunboats,  whose  numbers  are 
constantly  increasing,  steam  into  the  Poyang 
Lake  below  Kiukiang  and  carry  out  their  firing 
practices.  The  Chinese  authorities  protest,  the 
Germans  protest  back,  then  steam  off  the  lake 
into  the  great  river  and  the  incident  is  temporarily 
forgotten.  But  the  Germans  have  thus  established 
a right  to  go  into  the  Poyang  Lake,  for  they  have  a 
precedent,  and  in  the  East  all  is  based  on  precedent. 
At  Hankow  they  have  a large  concession  which 
they  are  rapidly  covering  with  handsome  structures; 
they  are  still  drilling  foolish  Chang  Chih-tung^s 
troops  on  the  Wuchang  parade  grounds;  they  have 
strong  hopes  that  Chinkiang  may  one  day  be  wholly 
German  owing  to  the  German  ownership  of  the 
Tientsien  trunk-line;  at  Nanking  they  are  making 
exceptional  demands  and  wish  for  an  exclusive 
Settlement ; and  thus  from  Shanghai  to  Hankow 
they  have  contrived  to  make  themselves  prominent 
in  some  way  or  other,  and  to  establish  equal 


358  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  CH. 


rights  (as  they  think)  with  England  in  the  heart  of 
her  so-called  sphere  of  influence. 

It  is  a long  way  back  from  where  we  have 
travelled  to  Tsingtao  and  purely  German  territory; 
but  it  is  a voyage  which  will  be  easily  accomplished 
by  the  German  railway  if  things  are  allowed  to  continue 
as  they  are  still  going  in  spite  of  the  war.  For  the 
German  programme  is  as  clear  as  the  light  of  day. 
In  a few  years  another  naval  base  somewhere  in  the 
region  of  Swatow  will  be  required,  and  then,  linked 
by  a system  of  German  railways,  a huge  slice  of 
Northern,  Central,  and  Southern  China  will  be 
practically  ruled  from  Berlin.  It  may  seem  nebulous 
and  vague  to  those  who  sit  in  the  darkness  of  bliss- 
ful ignorance  far  away,  but  it  is  patent  to  those 
whose  business  it  is  to  follow  audacious  Empire 
plans.  Tientsien  will  mark  the  extreme  Northern 
limit  of  these  ambitions;  Kaifengfu  the  North- 
western ; Hankow  the  Central  West ; and  Swatow 
the  extreme  South.  Including,  therefore,  great  por- 
tions of  nine  or  ten  provinces  of  China,  the  German 
programme  is  so  framed  that  it  clashes  directly  with 
no  other  Power  in  the  world  excepting  England. 
Even  Japan  could  be  satisfied  with  slices  of  Fuhkien 
and  Chehkiang  provinces;  the  Russian  and  French 
programmes  would  be  aided  and  abetted  by  the 
success  of  the  German  programme ; and  lastly 
America  might  be  bought  off  by  the  prospect  of  not 
having  the  Monroe  doctrine  even  challenged  until 
her  natural  growth  would  render  such  a policy 
suicidal  for  any  power  to  undertake.  Thus  argues 


Loading  in  the  Tsingtao  Harbour. 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  359 


the  patient  German  very  quietly  to  himself.  He 
knows  exactly  what  he  wants.  Asked  by  a French 
gunboat  captain  at  Hankow  why  the  Germans  did 
not  pay  more  attention  to  the  upper  Yangtsze  and 
send  their  gunboats  thither  as  the  British  and  French 
have  been  doing,  a German  naval  officer,  whose 
name  is  of  no  importance,  answered,  ^^This,  Han- 
kow, is  our  limit.  Beyond  it,  it  is  for  you  French 
to  settle  with  the  English.’’  At  Swatow  the  Java- 
Sumatra  coolie  trade  is  entirely  in  German  hands. 
The  future  of  Java  and  Sumatra  is  itself  no  certain 
one,  and  these  may  be  two  of  the  links  which, 
united  to  the  Chinese  ones,  may  entirely  change 
Germany’s  standing  as  a colonial  Power. 

And  yet  with  all  this  intrigue  and  ambition,  no 
examination  of  German  trade  and  shipping  discloses 
a justification  for  the  vast  programme  which  has 
been  dealt  with  hurriedly  above.  That  both  have 
expanded  is  beyond  controversy;  but  it  must  always 
be  borne  in  mind  that  Germany  could  not,  after  the 
Franco-Prussian  war  and  her  re-incarnation  in 
Empire  form,  depend  on  rival  nations  for  all  her 
brokering  and  carrier  operations.  In  the  ’eighties 
the  German  flag  began  to  be  noticed  in  the  Far  East; 
in  the  ’nineties  mail-contracts  and  the  Kiaochow 
policy  rapidly  forced  development  in  the  shipping 
trade  to  its  present  level,  which  is  undoubtedly,  for 
the  time  being,  the  high-water  mark  of  German  Far 
Eastern  prosperity  until  other  things  have  been  done 
elsewhere;  and  no  material  advance  will  now  prob- 
ably be  seen  for  a number  of  years.  In  commercial 


36o  KIAOCHOW  and  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  ch. 


operations  much  the  same  thing  is  to  be  noticed. 
The  big  German  houses  began  their  business  by 
establishing  themselves  at  Hongkong  and  Shanghai 
and  purchasing  or  selling  in  these  markets  indirectly 
as  far  as  the  rest  of  China  was  concerned.  The 
movement  which  has  been  lately  going  on  all  over 
the  rest  of  the  world  for  direct  trade  (i.e.  one  trans- 
action between  buyer  and  seller  conducted  by  the 
so-called  middleman,  acting  as  a commission  agent 
who  works  for  a minimum  fee)  in  due  course  spread 
to  China.  German  merchants,  so-called,  who  were  in 
reality  degenerate  commission-agents  with  the  terrible 
Hamburg  money-hunger,  took  up  their  residence  at 
those  treaty  ports  nearest  their  markets,  and,  financed 
direct  from  Germany  by  German  banks,  inaugurated 
direct  commission  trade  with  their  own  country. 
Yet  it  is  to  be  seriously  doubted  whether  this 
commerce  has  in  any  way  affected  British  commerce; 
at  most  it  may  have  slightly  diminished  the  freight 
receipts  of  British  shipping  and  caused  the  loss  of 
commissions  which  were  formerly  earned  in  England 
for  sale  and  transmission.  But  beyond  this  the  so- 
called  German  advance  at  the  expense  of  England, 
except  in  a political  and  moral  sense,  is  wholly 
unworthy  of  the  name.  In  1903  nearly  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  total  tonnage  of  vessels  entered  and 
cleared  at  the  treaty  ports  of  China  was  British, 
17  per  cent.  Chinese,  13  per  cent.  Japanese,  and 
only  12  per  cent.  German.  And  in  trade,  as  will  be 
shown  later,  British  trade  is  six  times  as  big  as 
German  trade.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  361 


England  is  the  stumbling-block  which  trips  the 
German  up  at  every  turn.  And  she  has  now  com- 
mitted a further  offence.  Not  being  content  with 
her  own  position,  she  has  allied  herself  with  Japan, 
a country  which,  if  enriched  and  developed  by  Anglo- 
Saxon  loans,  will  be  in  a fair  way  to  destroy  the 
German  Far  Eastern  trade  in  what  is  somewhat 
inelegantly  called  in  trade  parlance  ‘^muck  and 
truck,’’  i,e.  the  cheap  miscellaneous  goods  which 
have  been  made  famous  in  England  by  their 
ubiquitous  trade-mark  of  inferiority. 

Thus,  not  only  is  England  the  enemy,  but  Japan 
is  equally  so.  From  one  end  of  China  you  will  hear 
the  same  German  execration  forcibly  expressed 
against  the  Japanese  — the  detested  race  which  is 
upsetting  all  calculations,  and  which,  after  it  has 
finished  with  the  Russians  — if  Divine  Providence 
is  so  cruel  as  to  allow  that  consummation  — will 
concentrate  its  attention  on  German  action  in  China; 
will  advertise  every  German  move ; undersell  all 
Germany’s  cheap  goods;  destroy  the  German  com- 
mission agent’s  starvation  work  by  further  rate- 
cutting; inform  somnolent  British  officials  of  what 
is  going  on  suh  rosa^  and  shame  them  to  action; 
make  the  Chinese  Government  realise  that  the  time 
has  come  when  retaliatory  measures  may  be  success- 
fully adopted;  and  so  on  all  down  the  gamut.  The 
German,  if  he  is  sufficiently  heated,  will  even  step 
very  close  to  you  and  ask  you  impressively  whether 
white  men  should  be  divided  on  a subject  which 
eventually  will  mean  their  ruin.  If  you  rudely 


, 362  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  CH. 


laugh,  the  bitterness  engendered  will  fling  aside  all 
masks,  and  you  will  be  told  that  you  are  a traitor  to 
white  Europe,  and  that  while  you  may  continue  to 
laugh  for  five  or  even  ten  years,  in  twenty  years  you 
will  be  secretly  weeping  and  gnashing  your  teeth  and 
staring  stupidly  at  your  ruined  trade-empire ; and  that 
finally  in  the  end  it  will  be  you,  perfidious  Albion, 
and  no  one  else,  who  will  be  calling  on  Europe  to 
arm  and  destroy  the  solid  Asia  to  which  your  evil 
genius  has  given  birth.  All  this  makes  a splendidly 
dramatic  picture,  and  after  hours  of  beer-drinking 
and  more  hours  of  argument  — for  the  German  is  the 
greatest  and  most  persistent  handier  of  words  in  the 
world  — the  convictions  of  the  weak  are  somewhat 
shaken.  But  these  vapours  of  words  are  intended 
only  to  numb  you  and  disturb  your  judgment,  for  the 
German  understands  the  present  war  as  well  as 
anybody. 

Thus  from  the  Kaiser-port  of  Tsingtao  you  may 
survey  the  German  attitude  and  understand  it 
thoroughly.  Germany  is  hand-in-glove  with  Russia 
in  the  Far  East  to  the  death,  in  spite  of  any 
deceptive  appearances.  Every  Russian  defeat  on 
the  plains  and  hills  of  Manchuria  is  a German 
defeat;  every  Japanese  success  calls  for  more  curses 
and  imprecations.  The  Czarewitch  officers  have 
been  put  into  Coventry  at  Tsingtao,  not  because 
they  are  cowards,  but  because  they  represent  in- 
excusable failures.  And  of  the  great  neutral  Powers 
in  the  Far  East  it  is  not  France  who  is  the  most 
bitter  at  the  Russian  collapse,  but  Germany,  the 


XV  KIAOCHOW  AND  THE  GERMAN  PROGRAMME  363 


head  of  the  Triple  Alliance,  who  should  rejoice,  did 
not  the  Asiatic  question  bulk  so  large. 

Meanwhile,  whilst  things  are  in  this  tangled  con- 
dition, the  Governor  of  the  Kiaochow  territory  has 
gone  home ; telegraphs  flash  the  news  of  his 
promotion  to  the  rank  of  Rear-Admiral,  the  more 
fittingly  to  adorn  the  new  Government  House ; 
Tsingtao  is  to  have  another  Imperial  granite  dry- 
dock  ; a greater  military  expenditure  is  to  be 

sanctioned  for  1906;  and  the  troops  in  North  China 
are  to  be  moved  to  Tsingtao  if  Tientsien  and  the 
surrounding  posts  are  evacuated.  Everything  points 
to  the  fact  that  Germany  is  irrevocably  pledged  to 
her  Far  Eastern  expansionist  policy,  but  that  the 
time  for  striking  must  now  be  delayed.  There  is 
yet  time  for  counter-action.  But  unless  that  comes 
soon,  and  is  sane,  cool,  persevering,  and  intelligent, 
although  the  German  programme  may  be  never 
completed  in  its  entirety,  there  is  still  every  prospect 
of  the  major  portion  being  brought  to  fruition,  to  the 
detriment  of  the  peace  and  well-being  of  the  people 
of  China. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY  FROM  TSINGTAO  TO  THE 
SHANTUNG  CAPITAL 

After  the  manner  of  Far  Eastern  trains  the 
Tsingtao  daily  express  leaves  the  station  at  the 
earliest  possible  hour  so  that  the  maximum  amount 
of  daylight  may  be  available  for  the  slow,  methodical 
run,  which  may  be  tantalising,  but  which  is  the  most 
economical  for  coal  consumption.  Excepting  on  the 
Manchurian  railway  no  trains  in  China  run  during 
the  night,  as  the  time  has  not  yet  been  reached 
when  Chinese  engine-drivers  may  be  counted  on 
to  pay  the  careful  attention  which  night  work 
demands. 

The  Tsingtao  station  is  a handsome.  German- 
looking  building,  to  which  the  architecture  of  the 
immensely  patriotic  port  has  already  accustomed 
you.  And  under  such  circumstances  it  comes  as 
no  surprise  that  you  buy  your  ticket  not  from  the 
usual  Chinese  clerk,  but  from  an  uniformed 
German  railway  official.  Germany  evidently  does 
not  believe  in  the  English  Colonial  policy,  and  one 
day  she  may  have  to  pay  dearly  for  the  absurd 

364 


On  the  German  Railway. 


\^Face  page  364,  Vol.  /. 


Tsingtao  Station. 


CH.  XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


365 


manner  in  which  Germans  are  foisted  into  positions 
which  the  natives  of  the  country  should  be  trained 
to  occupy.  The  German  railway  fares  likewise  do 
not  illustrate  the  principle  of  small  profits  and  quick 
returns,  for  the  charges  on  the  Shantung  railway 
are  probably  the  heaviest  in  the  Far  East.  Even 
from  Port  Arthur  to  Harbin,  a run  of  over  six 
hundred  miles,  was  almost  as  cheap  before  the  war 
as  from  Tsingtao  to  Chinanfu,  though  the  distance 
in  Manchuria  is  almost  twice  as  great  and  the 
accommodation  of  the  Russian  trains  far  better. 
But  then  the  German  railway  is  a commercial 
undertaking  — at  least  ostensibly,  and  has  no  ulterior 
motives ; whilst  the  war  has  proved  why  the 
Russians  built  theirs. 

There  are  but  few  passengers  excepting  Chinese 
in  these  German  trains  — for  the  ‘Colonists’’  are 
few  and  confined  to  Tsingtao,  but  the  natives  show 
by  their  numbers  that  rapid  transit  is  the  one 
thing  China  has  been  languishing  for,  and  that  once 
communication  is  good  and  cheap  all  over  the 
Empire,  the  face  of  the  country  will  change  com- 
pletely. Even  from  Tsingtao,  which  has  yet  to 
prove  its  usefulness,  there  were  respectable  numbers 
of  Chinese  going  all  the  way  through  to  Chinanfu  — 
a distance  of  nearly  three  hundred  miles  — whilst 
still  greater  numbers  were  continually  climbing 
up  or  jumping  off  as  we  drew  in  and  out  of  way- 
side  stations.  The  great  majority  of  these  travellers 
patronised  the  horse-box-shaped  third-class  carriages, 
in  which  you  seat  yourself,  your  bedding,  and  your 


366 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


various  bundles  — of  which  latter  category  every 
Easterner  has  weird  and  impossible  numbers  — on 
the  ground;  but  even  in  the  second  and  first-class 
compartments  were  to  be  found  rich  Chinese 
merchants  in  their  silks  and  satins,  to  whom  money 
is  no  great  consideration,  travelling  in  ease  and  state 
and  reading  the  latest  news  of  the  war  in  the 
Chinese  equivalent  of  the  Daily  Mail,  People  are 
fond  of  dwelling  on  the  way  the  Chinaman  desires 
to  earn  money ; but  it  has  not  been  sufficiently 
observed  that  he  is  equally  eager  to  spend  it,  for 
without  doubt  the  Chinaman  is  the  most  free-fisted 
of  all  Asiatic  peoples.  The  Japanese  has  been 
forced  to  have  a French-like  carefulness  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  he  lays  out  every  paper  yen,  but 
the  Chinaman,  on  the  other  hand,  as  often  as  not 
throws  his  money  about  as  freely  and  as  foolishly  as 
any  Englishman  or  Russian. 

The  Tsingtao  train  speeds  forward  over  an 
admirable  rock  bed.  No  pains  have  evidently 
been  spared  to  make  the  line  as  excellent  as 
possible,  and  running  through  a clean  country  with 
few  engineering  difficulties  to  overcome,  the  German 
company  has  concentrated  all  its  efforts  on  getting 
the  permanent  way  into  that  smooth  and  perfect 
condition  which  generally  only  comes  after  the 
lapse  of  years.  Completed  only  six  months  ago,  the 
line  is  already  in  a condition  to  bear  the  heaviest 
and  most  continuous  traffic.  Very  different  is  it 
indeed  from  the  Franco-Belgian  undertaking  from 
Hankow  to  Peking. 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


367 


The  little  town  of  Tsingtao  is  soon  left  behind, 
but  at  the  station  Syfang,  up  to  which  the  big 
harbour  now  under  construction  will  extend,  the  real 
railway  headquarters  is  reached.  Here  an  immense 
piece  of  land  is  already  covered  with  warehouses, 
sheds,  and  machine-shops,  whilst  between  the 
countless  tracks,  which  form  immense  spider-webs 
of  steel,  are  great  stacks  of  railway  material.  From 
the  Syfang  headquarters  an  invasion  of  all  North 
China  could  be  planned  and  possibly  executed.  Here 
have  been  already  accumulated  rails,  ties,  bolts,  and 
fish-plates  in  sufficient  quantities  to  make  many 
extensions  from  the  present  Chinanfu  terminus;  and 
on  the  great  Far  Eastern  war  it  depends  whether 
German  engineers  will  link  up  the  capital  of 
Shantung  with  Tientsien  in  the  North  and  Kaifengfu 
in  the  West,  and  plan  from  these  places  extensions 
in  other  directions.  A glance  at  the  great  harbour 
works  now  in  progress  and  the  accumulation  of 
railway  materials,  is  sufficient  to  show  that  Germany, 
at  least,  has  committed  herself  so  heavily  that  only 
the  greatest  pressure  will  force  her  to  limit  her 
activity  in  China  to  her  Kiaochow  colony,  as  she  so 
loudly  and  constantly  protests  is  her  only  intention. 
As  in  Manchuria,  everything  here  is  planned 

on  the  most  noble  scale,  and  everywhere  there 

are  evidences  that  a notable  future  is  being 

thought  of. 

Beyond  the  two  Syfang  stations  the  country 

opens  up,  and  the  mountains  and  hills  which  seem 
to  threaten  you  when  you  are  in  Tsingtao  suddenly 


368 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


disappear.  Immense  rolling  fields  of  crops  cover 
the  land  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  but  the 
absence  of  trees  in  any  number  gives  to  the  country 
the  cold  look  of  Northern  Manchuria.  Each 
station  has  a neat  well-built  structure  of  a very 
distinctive  design  as  a main  building,  whilst,  on  the 
gravelled  platform,  posts,  zebra-marked  with  red, 
white,  and  black,  give  notice  to  the  world  at  large, 
and  the  Chinaman  in  particular,  that  Imperial 
Germany  is  really  responsible  for  the  whole  under- 
taking, although  the  road  belongs  to  a private 
company.  Few  Chinese,  however,  come  down  to 
look  at  the  passing  trains,  and  the  stations  are  not 
gay  with  the  bustle  and  disorder  which  characterise 
all  other  railways  in  China.  It  is  as  if  the  China- 
man is  being  drilled  to  an  order  that  he  cannot 
understand  wherever  the  new  German  movement  is 
taking  place.  The  very  villages  are  not  thick  on 
the  horizon  line  as  they  are  in  Chihli,  Honan,  or 
Hupeh;  they  stand  back  out  of  sight  as  if  unwilling 
to  enter  into  any  intimacy  with  the  ruthless  new- 
comer. 

Not  until  kilometre  8o  is  reached  does  the  city  of 
Kioachow  appear.  It  is  very  curious  that  the 
German  colony  should  bear  the  name  of  a Chinese 
city  which  is  in  no  wise  connected  with  it;  but  such 
misnomers  frequently  happen  in  China.  To  take 
but  one  instance:  Newchwang  is  not  really  New- 
chwang  but  Ying-Kou,  for  the  town  of  the  former 
name  lies  far  inland  from  the  Manchurian  treaty 
port.  And  similarly,  Kiaochow  colony  received  its 


XVI  ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY  369 

name  because  it  lies  at  the  mouth  of  Kiaochow  Bay, 
which  is  merely  an  immense  silt-laden  indenture  on 
the  Shantung  coast.  The  city  of  Kiaochow  is  at 
the  extreme  end  of  this  bay  and  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  German  jurisdiction,  although  within  the 
neutral  zone  in  which  China  may  not  station  any 
troops  but  still  administers. 

At  Kiaochow  city  for  the  first  time  there  was  a 
fair  crowd  of  Chinese,  standing  in  that  idleness 
which  is  dear  to  Eastern  countries.  There  was 
evidence  also  that  the  railway  is  becoming  a neces- 
sary factor  in  local  life.  Hawkers  and  vendors, 
without  whom  the  Chinaman  would  languish,  cry 
their  wares  and  dispute  with  one  another  for  the 
privilege  of  selling  doubtful  cigarettes,  ill-smelling 
matches,  and  even  good  German  beer,  to  all  who 
loll  their  heads  out  of  windows.  But  a rapid  inspec- 
tion proved  that  there  is  still  but  little  goods  traffic 
here.  Compared  with  the  rich  Hankow-Peking  line, 
the  prospects  of  the  German  railway  are  poor;  but 
still  I am  convinced  that  even  the  Shantung  road 
will  prove  remarkably  remunerative  solely  on 
account  of  the  passenger  traffic  and  the  cheapness 
of  operating  railways  in  China.  Slowly  but  surely 
the  railway  will  pick  every  traveller  from  the  road 
and  boat  all  over  China,  — of  this  there  is  no  doubt ; 
and  the  sum  total  of  these  many  millions  travelling 
will  do  much  to  compensate  for  the  absence  of 
goods. 

The  train  moved  on,  and  once  more  we  were 
sliding  smoothly  forward  and  secretly  congratulating 

VOL.  I — 2 B 


37° 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


the  builders  on  their  capacity  for  taking  infinite 
pains.  Tall  kao-liang  covers  the  country,  some- 
times fighting  with  hsiao-mi  or  the  small  millet  for 
the  first  place,  but  always  vanquishing  its  com- 
petitor after  a few  miles  of  struggle.  The  giant 
millet,  providing  as  it  does  food  for  man  and  beast, 
although  indescribably  coarse,  is  the  best-paying, 
and  the  cunning  Chinese  agriculturist  has  not  yet 
reached  the  pitch  when  he  can  afford  to  pander  to 
his  own  stomach.  The  stomachs  of  his  beasts  are 
infinitely  more  precious  to  him  than  his  own;  for  if 
men  die  others  can  soon  be  made,  whilst  cattle  and 
draft  animals  can  often  not  become  ancestors  owing 
to  causes  which  it  is  superfluous  to  specify.  With 
nothing  to  do  but  to  survey  the  horizon,  it  was  time 
to  turn  to  a frank  little  German  volume  entitled 
Guide  to  Tsingtao  and  its  Neighbourhood. 

Almost  on  the  first  page  of  this  engaging  little 
volume  your  attention  is  directed  to  the  astound- 
ing fact  that  Tsingtao  is  most  quickly  reached  by 
following  the  great  Siberian  railway.  And  for  the 
following  reasons:  — Berlin  is  linked  with  St.  Peters- 
burg; St.  Petersburg  with  Moscow;  Moscow  with 
Port  Arthur  and  Dalny;  Port  Arthur  with  Chefoo, 
and  finally  Chefoo  with  Tsingtao.  Providence  has, 
therefore,  as  it  were,  created  a special  route  along 
which  all  mankind  may  travel  until  Tsingtao  is 
reached.  It  is  curious  how  this  mysterious  Russo- 
German  co-operation  in  the  Far  East  is  always 
cropping  up,  more  especially  since  the  war,  and 
attracting  your  attention.  Shantung  is  almost  next 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


371 


door  to  Manchuria,  and  were  the  German  railway 
to  obtain  the  concession  to  connect  the  Chinanfu 
line  with  Tientsien,  the  Berlin  traveller  could  come 
all  the  way  from  Europe  to  his  Chinese  colony  by 
rail  without  changes,  excepting  from  standard  gauge 
to  Russian  broad  gauge  and  then  back  once  more 
to  the  same.  England  and  British  capital  alone 
stand  in  the  way  of  this  plan,  and  now  that  the 
Lansdowne-Hayashi  agreement  is  already  in  fair 
way  of  accomplishing  the  first  part  of  its  pro- 
gramme, German  irritation  must  know  no  bounds. 

Farther  on  in  this  interesting  little  guide-book  — 
an  “open  sesame’’  to  Imperial  secrets  — there  are 
some  insignificant  paragraphs  under  the  legend 
“history.”  We  are  told  that  in  January  of  the 
year  1897  a German  expert  in  harbour-building 
and  engineering  was  sent  out  to  China  by  the  Berlin 
Government,  in  response  to  a suggestion  made  in 
1896  by  the  German  Rear-Admiral  on  the  China 
Station;  and  that  as  his  report  was  favourable,  the 
German  Government  made  immediate  overtures  to 
the  Chinese  Government  regarding  a lease  of 
Kiaochow  Bay  — overtures  which  were,  however, 
rejected.  It  is  enlightening  to  allow  the  Guide 
to  continue  the  story  in  its  own  words. 

“At  this  juncture  an  occurrence  took  place  which 
brought  about  the  realisation  of  the  project.  On 
the  I St  November,  1897,  three  missionaries  named 
Nies,  Henle,  and  Stenz  were  attacked  by  thirty 
Chinese  in  a village  named  Chang-chia  in  the  pre- 
fecture of  Yen-chou.  The  first  two  were  murdered. 


372 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


the  third  escaped.  After  this  Germany  came  to  an 
understanding  with  the  various  Powers,  but  more 
especially  with  Russia,  and  on  the  14th  November, 
1897,  the  cruiser  division  commanded  by  Admiral 
Diederichs  occupied  Tsingtao  and  Kiaochow  Bay.^^ 
This  is  a surprisingly  candid  statement  to  be 
allowed  in  print  by  the  German  Government,  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  revised  edition  will  not  contain 
these  remarks.  For  it  will  be  remembered  that  the 
Cassini  Convention,  divulged  in  the  autumn  of 
1896,  mentioned  Kiaochow  as  the  first  of  the  three 
ports  which  China  was  to  lease  to  Russia.  The 
premature  publication  of  this  Memorandum  raised 
such  an  uproar  that  everybody  concerned  in  its 
drafting  denied  its  existence.  But,  invention  or  no 
invention,  a document  strangely  resembling  this  one 
must  have  changed  hands  in  Peking,  and  its  contents 
must  likewise  have  been  well  known  to  the  German 
Government  and  the  German  Legation.  How 
comes  it,  therefore,  at  a time  when  a Russian 
Squadron  was  furtively  visiting  Kiaochow  Bay,  as 
I have  already  shown,  that  the  Germans  were  also 
feeling  their  way  in  the  matter  and  seeking  to 
acquire  territory  which  Russia  had  apparently  al- 
ready expressed  her  intention  of  pre-empting?  The 
true  story  of  these  leasing  affairs  will  probably  never 
be  known  outside  the  walls  of  the  European  Chancel- 
leries responsible  for  their  execution.  But  the  fact 
seems  to  stand  out  that  from  the  year  1895,  in  spite 
of  a temporary  rapprochement  then  with  England 
in  the  Far  East  over  the  question  of  Chinese  loans. 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


373 


Germany  has  been  acting  consistently  in  accordance 
with  some  private  understanding  with  Russia;  and 
this  explains  why  it  was  quite  impossible  for  the 
Anglo-German  Agreement  of  1900  to  include 
Manchuria  within  its  terms  without  ruining  the 
secret  German  programme.  Many  years  must 
elapse,  and  many  hard  blows  will  have  to  be  given 
and  received,  before  Englishmen  realise  that  once 
in  Asia  all  Continentals  at  heart  form  a solid  block 
whose  object  is  to  diminish  British  power.  Rap- 
prochements may  be  useful  in  European  politics 
for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  temporarily  the 
balance  of  power ; but  such  rapprochements  never 
affect  the  expansionist  programmes  of  the  Great 
Powers  of  the  Continent  which,  even  in  China  alone, 
are  committed  too  deeply  to  draw  back  except  in 
the  face  of  the  most  disastrous  circumstances. 

Amid  such  reflections  the  city  of  Kaumi  — one  of 
the  most  important  Chinese  towns  along  the  entire 
line  — rose  up  before  me.  Kaumi,  which  is  sur- 
rounded by  a formidable  city  wall,  marks  the  limit  of 
the  German  sphere  of  interest  {Interessenzone),  consist- 
ing of  a fifty-kilometre  belt  extending  round  the  whole 
of  the  territory  actually  leased  on  the  ninety-nine 
years’  lease.  Kaumi  marks  kilometre  107  from  the 
Tsingtao  terminus  on  the  railway  map,  and  therefore 
it  would  be  interesting  to  know  under  authority  of 
what  instrument  Germany  stations  her  troops  so 
far  inland.  From  the  railway  station  a broad,  well- 
metalled  road  leads  to  a permanent  German  encamp- 
ment artfully  concealed  from  view  by  some  small 


374 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


woods.  Here  is  quartered  a double  company  of 
mounted  infantry  belonging  to  the  small  colonial 
army  which  Germany  has  already  managed  to 
collect  in  China,  in  spite  of  Herr  Bebel  and  his 
Socialists.  The  captain  in  command  of  this 
detachment  {Aujkldrungs-detachment)  is  a jocular 
fellow  who  bears  the  significant  nickname  of  the 
King  of  Kaumi,  and  his  command  roams  far  into 
the  country  engaged  in  manoeuvres  which  succeed 
in  leaving  the  impression  on  all  Chinese  that  it  is  a 
mere  question  of  time  as  to  when  the  German  flag  is 
to  be  hoisted  definitely  here.  I direct  the  attention 
of  those  who  take  any  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
China  to  this  Kaumi  mounted  detachment  which 
has  established  itself  fifty  kilometres  beyond  the 
German  colony,  and  which  has  driven  away  Chinese 
Yamen-runners  with  the  naked  sword.  The  fact  is 
also  worthy  of  notice  that  the  Tsingtao  garrison  is 
being  methodically  increased,  little  by  little,  so  as  to 
lessen  suspicions  which  might  be  roused  were  large 
additions  made.  The  Japanese  have  no  delusions 
on  the  subject,  and  are  watching  the  Germans  as 
closely  in  Shantung  as  they  did  the  Russians  in 
Manchuria. 

From  Kaumi,  kilometre  107,  until  Ichang-loyuan, 
kilometre  183,  there  is  not  much  of  interest  to  be 
seen.  Always  the  same  monotonous  fields  with 
their  scant  villages  hidden  away  in  the  country.  At 
some  stations,  however,  there  is  evidence  that 
freight  traffic  has  at  last  begun,  and  although  still 
very  trifling  a commencement  has  been  made.  This 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


375 


is  because  there  is  no  water  to  compete  with  the 
railway  just  here  and  the  iron  horse  can  kill  even 
the  old  Chinese  mule. 

At  Ichang-loyuan  station,  a name  which  must 
smack  well  in  German  mouths,  you  are  but  twenty 
minutes  from  the  Fangtse  coal  mines,  a German 
enterprise  of  some  importance.  The  thirty-kilo- 
metre mining-zone  which  extends  along  the  whole 
course  of  the  railway  formed  part  of  the  original 
leasing  Agreement.  In  this  zone,  or  belt,  the 
Germans  possess  the  exclusive  right  to  mine,  and 
every  effort  has  been  made  by  the  German  Govern- 
ment to  see  that  the  concession  is  properly  exploited. 
In  accordance  with  this  plan  a mining  company  was 
formed  in  Berlin  shortly  after  the  lease  of  Tsingtao 
by  some  of  the  most  powerful  German  banks  and 
12,000,000  marks  (£600,000)  capital  promptly  sub- 
scribed. The  Government  then  handed  the  whole 
of  the  thirty-kilometre  zone  over  to  this  new  venture 
— officially  styled  the  Shantung  Bergbaugesellschaft. 
The  Fangtse  fields  which  the  Chinese  had  worked 
in  a primitive  manner  for  hundreds  of  years  were 
first  taken  in  hand,  and  the  natives  rudely  driven 
away.  Since  then  rapid  progress  has  been  made. 
By  1902  shafts  had  been  sunk  600  feet  below  the 
surface,  and  a coal  seam  twelve  feet  thick  laid  bare. 
Diamond  drilling  carried  down  to  a depth  of  4,000 
feet  has  disclosed  the  existence  of  seams  averaging 
all  the  way  from  eight  to  ten  feet  in  thickness.  In 
October  of  1902  I happened  to  be  in  Tsingtao  when 
the  first  coal  train  from  these  Fangtse  mines  came 


376 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


in,  to  the  great  excitement  of  the  ‘Xolonisten,” 
whose  wildest  hopes  seemed  about  to  be  realised. 
Since  then  they  have  become  more  sober,  as  the 
coal,  though  of  fair  quality,  is  disappointing,  and  the 
major  part  hauled  to  the  surface  is  only  fit  for 
Chinese  use  and  cannot  be  employed  in  stokehold 
or  factory.  During  the  year  ending  1902,  10,000 
tons  were  brought  to  the  surface,  all  of  which  found 
a ready  sale.  By  1903  the  output  was  more  than 
doubled,  and  it  is  now  hoped  that  by  1906  the 
average  output  will  reach  a thousand  tons  per  diem, 
an  estimate,  however,  which  seems  quite  extrava- 
gant. The  Fangtse  mines  may,  therefore,  be 
already  termed  a moderate  success  from  the  German 
point  of  view,  as,  although  the  coal  is  poor,  the 
Chinese  eagerly  buy  up  all  fuel  placed  on  the 
market.  Arrangements  are  being  made  now  to 
coal  the  German  Far  Eastern  Squadron  regularly 
from  these  Shantung  mines,  and  special  steps  are 
being  taken  to  accumulate  large  reserves  of  the  best 
coal  at  Tsingtao  so  as  to  make  the  German  Navy 
quite  independent  of  all  other  supplies  of  fuel  in  the 
event  of  war.  Tsingtao,  in  any  case,  will  soon  offer 
unexceptionable  facilities  as  a coaling  port;  but  its 
unfortunate  geographical  situation  may  make  it 
impossible  for  the  port  to  attain  anything  but  a 
second-rate  importance. 

The  railway,  likewise  intensely  patriotic,  relies 
entirely  on  the  Shantung  Bergbaugesellschaft  for  its 
fuel,  and  the  mining  and  railway  authorities  having 
put  their  heads  together,  have  succeeded  in  making 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


377 


very  special  arrangements  for  rapid  loading  at  the  pit- 
head.  Everywhere  one  sees  the  same  close  connec- 
tion between  each  German  enterprise  in  the  East, 
and  it  will  not  be  for  lack  of  combination  that 
Germany  does  not  succeed. 

Beyond  this,  at  kilometre  196,  lies  Wei-hsien, 
another  moderately  important  Chinese  town.  Near 
here  a second  German  company,  the  ‘‘Deutsche 
Gesellschaft  fiir  Bergbau  und  Industrie  im  Aus- 
lande,”  is  engaged  in  mining  operations.  This 
company,  hardly  less  powerful  in  financial  backing 
than  the  first  named,  is  a species  of  chartered  com- 
pany {Kolonial  Gesellschajt),  with  special  powers 
conferred  on  it  by  the  Bundesrat.  Its  concessions 
in  Shantung,  which  are  divided  into  five  zones 
aggregating  an  area  no  less  than  thirty  thousand 
square  kilometres,  are  placed  more  or  less  strate- 
gically — that  is,  where  the  German  railway  is  going 
to  run  some  day.  Thus  it  is  quite  clear  that  certain 
of  the  five  zones  were  deliberately  chosen  so  as  to 
be,  later  on,  the  excuse  for  railway  extension,  e.g.  the 
Tsimo-P’ingtu-Laichoufu  area.  A railway  through 
this  last  zone  would  practically  connect  Tsingtao 
with  the  northern  coast  of  Shantung  and  see  a 
German  terminus  looking  into  the  Gulf  of  Pechili; 
whilst  the  building  of  such  a line  would  effectively 
cut  off  Chefoo  from  the  hinterland  which  gives  it  its 
growing  trade  and  soon  cause  it  to  languish  and  die, 
thus  benefiting  Tsingtao  to  a corresponding  extent. 
Similarly  the  other  mining  districts  extend  far  away 
from  the  existing  railway  and  are  the  first  steps 


378 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


towards  absorption.  The  avowed  objects  of  this 
company  are  the\mining  of  precious  minerals,  but, 
as  may  be  imagined,  little  progress  has  been  made 
towards  putting  the  concern  on  a paying  basis. 

Journeying  on,  at  kilometre  302  (Chang-tien)  a 
branch  line  is  reached  forty-three  kilometres  in 
length,  which  leads  to  the  Po-shan  mining  fields. 
These  fields  are  far  beyond  the  thirty-kilometre  zone, 
and  the  special  agreement  which  sanctions  the 
mining  operations  which  the  Shantung  Bergbau- 
gesellschaft  is  conducting  here  has  never  been  dis- 
closed. Already  the  Chinese  mines  here  situated 
are  being  interfered  with,  and  it  would  be  interesting 
to  learn  under  whose  authority  Chou-Fu,  the  aged 
Governor  of  Shantung,  granted  this  concession. 
Mounting  the  train  at  this  place  I met  a number  of 
rich  Chinese  who  had  been  investigating  the  question 
of  their  mining  rights,  which  were  being  tampered 
with  by  the  Germans;  and  bitterly  did  these  people 
express  themselves  on  the  German  policy  in  Shan- 
tung. Powerless  to  oppose  the  constant  encroach- 
ments, the  Chinaman  has  for  the  time  being  to  fold 
his  hands  and  submit;  but  the  day  cannot  be  far  off 
when  Germany  will  be  taught  a rude  lesson,  unless 
she  learns  to  forget  the  Kaiser’s  insane  instruction 
to  his  parting  troops  in  1900  “to  behave  like  Huns.” 
The  Hun  policy  slumbers  for  the  time  being,  but  it 
may  soon  awake  again. 

In  spite  of  all  Chinese  opposition,  however,  as  at 
Fangtse  so  at  Po-shan  rapid  progress  has  been 
made,  and  it  is  believed  that  these  mines  will 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


379 


ultimately  become  the  best  in  Shantung.  Hopes 
are  also  held  out  by  the  German  engineers  that  iron 
ore  will  offer  an  opportunity  which  may  have  a great 
influence  on  the  whole  future  of  the  Shantung 
Colony.  Iron  undoubtedly  exists  in  many  places  in 
Shantung,  but  whether  its  mining  can  be  turned  into 
a commercial  success  is  still  a question  to  be  decided 
by  the  expenditure  of  much  capital.  But  no  matter 
what  the  expenditure  may  be,  search-parties  under 
the  leadership  of  picked  German  experts  are  spying 
out  the  land  in  every  direction,  and  bore-holes  have 
been  already  sunk  and  abandoned  in  many  districts 
in  this  great  attempt  to  make  Shantung  a richly 
paying  “proposition.^^  The  German  is  very  busily 
at  work,  and  will  continue  to  be  busy  for  many  years 
to  come,  and  Shantung  is  spoken  of  with  an  air  of 
proprietorship  which  is  highly  irritating  to  those 
who  have  still  moderately  honest  ideas  of  meum  and 
tuum. 

From  kilometre  302,  where  this  Po-shan  line 
branches  off  up  to  Chinanfu,  there  is  a run  of 
upwards  of  one  hundred  kilometres,  and  it  is  not 
until  very  late  in  the  evening  that  the  train  finally 
pulls  up  under  the  walls  of  the  Shantung  provincial 
capital.  The  railway  circles  coyly  round  the  city 
and  possesses  three  stations,  so  that  every  cent  in 
fares  may  be  picked  up  with  that  painstaking  care 
which  the  Teuton  possesses  in  such  a remarkable 
degree.  In  Chinanfu,  as  at  Kiaochow  city,  Kaumi 
and  Wei-hsien,  there  is  a small  German  hotel  which, 
like  so  many  Eastern  ventures,  is  awaiting  more  and 


380 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


more  anxiously  the  great  boom  which  may  come 
after  the  war.  For  in  spite  of  German  activity 
along  the  railway  there  are  very  few  European 
travellers,  and  consequently  but  little  money  to  be 
made  in  hotel-keeping. 

Chinanfu  also  boasts  of  a German  Post  Office, 
like  a number  of  places  along  the  railway,  and  every 
means  is  employed  to  attract  Chinese  correspondence, 
although  such  action  on  the  part  of  a treaty  Power 
is  quite  incompatible  with  the  open-door  protesta- 
tions. On  every  German  train  a section  of  a carriage 
is  given  up  to  the  German  postal  authorities,  who 
have  not  hesitated  to  adorn  the  outside  of  their  cars 
with  a very  big  ‘^Deutsche  Reichspost,”  and  the 
orthodox  red  and  black  lines.  This  post-office  policy 
is  but  one  of  the  many  little  petty  artifices  adopted 
by  the  German  authorities  to  insinuate  themselves 
into  places  where  they  do  not  belong  and  indeed 
have  no  business.  The  Russian  method  has  at 
least  none  of  such  pettiness,  and  the  very  brusque- 
ness and  confidence  which  characterise  Slav  expan- 
sion please  somehow  more  than  this  pfennig- 
counting policy. 

Chinanfu  has  nothing  about  it  which  merits  special 
mention.  It  is  the  usual  big  Chinese  city  with 
several  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  and  a small 
German  colony  of  forty  persons  whose  businesses 
are  not  always  quite  clear.  There  is  a German 
Consul,  a branch  of  the  German  Bank  (the  Deutsch- 
Asiatische  Bank),  the  German  railway  and  postal 
staffs,  some  miscellaneous  men  employed  by  the 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


381 


Chinese  provincial  authorities  for  school  work,  and 
an  increasing  number  of  German  babies.  The  males 
of  this  colony  have  formed  themselves  into  a club  — 
a trick  learnt  from  English  Far  Eastern  communities 
— and  there  is  now  an  imposing  members^  list  com- 
prising thirty  names.  Every  effort  is  being  made  to 
get  the  provincial  Governor’s  staff  more  and  more 
under  German  influence  — a process  which  the 
various  Yamens  are  almost  powerless  to  resist,  on 
account  of  the  eternal  questions  which  the  German 
Legation  in  Peking  raises  if  the  local  authorities 
prove  recalcitrant. 

One  step,  however,  has  been  boldly  taken  by  the 
Chinese,  which  was  so  unexpected  that  .it  caused  the 
German  authorities  to  make  an  ugly  grimace. 
Peking  declared  Chinanfu,  Wei-hsien,  and  Ch’outsun 
, open  to  foreign  trade  and  residence  — thus  convert- 
ing them  into  ordinary  treaty  ports  where  anyone, 
no  matter  of  what  nationality,  might  reside.  This 
was  a deliberate  blow  in  the  face  for  the  patriots 
engaged  in  absorbing  Shantung,  and  has  not  been 
forgotten.  It  is  stated  that  more  mining  concessions 
are  about  to  be  demanded  by  the  German  Legation 
as  ‘^compensation”  for  the  “loss  of  face”  sustained. 
Truly  Far  Eastern  politics  have  come  to  a cheerful 
pass  when  European  Powers  adopt  Chinese  argu- 
ments. 

Meanwhile,  it  would  be  a wise  move  to  appoint 
British  and  American  Consular  agents  at  the  open 
port  of  Chinanfu,  who  would  be  able  to  watch  over 
interests  that  are  quite  as  important  as  those  of 


382 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


Germany.  Chefoo  is  still  the  principal  port  of 
Shantung,  and  may  be  counted  on  to  grow  largely 
in  importance  in  the  near  future  when  it  is  placed  in 
communication  with  its  immediate  hinterland  by 
means  of  a light  railway.  For  special  reasons,  no 
mention  has  been  made  of  the  fact  that  in  Weihaiwei 
Great  Britain  possesses  a port  far  more  advanta- 
geously situated  than  Tsingtao.  Weihaiwei  is  only 
forty  miles  from  Chefoo,  has  a fine  anchorage,  and 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  place  it  into  railway 
communication  with  Chefoo,  in  spite  of  the  unofficial 
assurances  given  to  Germany  on  this  matter.  When 
it  is  added  that  there  are  a great  number  of  English 
and  American  missionaries  scattered  all  over 
Shantung,  it  will  be  understood  that  there  is  every 
excuse  for  the  appointment  of  both  British  and 
American  representatives  at  the  capital  of  the 
Province. 

Although  the  Chinese  have  not  much  power  to 
resist  German  interference,  they  are  determined  to 
give  no  possible  legitimate  excuse  for  further  inter- 
ference. Police  schools  have  consequently  been 
established  at  Chinanfu,  where  the  new  type  ‘^police 
troops’’  (Hsun  chin)  are  being  trained.  On  these 
men  will  devolve  the  entire  policing  of  the  railway. 
A German  instructor  is  nominally  employed,  but 
everything  which  it  would  be  unwise  for  him  to 
know  is  kept  from  him.  There  are  no  Germans  in 
the  whole  of  Shantung  who  have  more  than  an 
elementary  knowledge  of  colloquial  Chinese ; and, 
as  all  experts  will  understand,  the  style  of  con  versa- 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


383 


tion  which  the  local  officials  employ  in  talking  with 
one  another  can  be  easily  made  so  complex  that  the 
ordinary  European  flounders  beyond  his  depth. 

For  some  time  past  the  indefatigable  Teutons 
have  been  trying  very  hard  to  obtain  the  appoint- 
ment of  a German  foreign  adviser  to  the  governor 
of  Shantung,  and  they  will  probably  succeed  in  the 
end,  as  the  Chinese  are  quite  willing  to  buy  off  their 
enemies  at  a few  hundred  pounds  a year.  The 
present  candidate  for  this  post,  it  will  amuse  Herr 
Bebel  to  learn,  is  almost  deaf,  and  is  hampered  with 
a failing  eyesight.  Complications  may  therefore  be 
counted  on  to  arise  with  refreshing  rapidity. 

But  much  hinges  on  the  railway  and  the  mines. 
If  they  prove  very  remunerative  the  Germans  will 
certainly  exhaust  themselves  in  obtaining  fresh 
privileges  and  concessions  and  in  extending  those 
they  already  possess  beyond  the  limits  of  Shantung 
province.  And  even  on  the  other  hand  if  the 
present  ventures  are  not  great  commercial  successes, 
the  directors  and  leading  spirits  in  Berlin  will  state 
that  partial  failure  is  due  to  the  fact  that  only  first 
steps  have  been  made,  and  that  as  soon  as  certain 
other  necessary  things  have  been  done  all  will  be 
couleur  de  rose} 

^ The  Shantung  Eisenbahn  Gesellschaft  has  a paid-up  capital  of 
54,000,000  marks  (;^2,7oo,ooo).  Of  this  sum,  53,000,000  marks  have 
been  expended  on  the  existing  trunk  line  and  the  short  coal  lines,  say 
a total  of  450  kilometres.  During  the  seven  months  of  1904  the  line 
has  been  open  the  gross  receipts  were  Mex.  $822,197  and  the  net 
receipts  Mex.  $400,935.  It  is  calculated  by  the  directorate  that  if  they 
wished,  a dividend  could  be  paid  in  respect  of  the  first  seven  months 
working  at  the  rate  of  two  per  cent,  per  annum.  The  first  year’s 


3^4 


ON  THE  GERMAN  R*\ILWAY 


CHAP. 


During  the  summer  of  1904  I met  several  of  the 
forty  odd  German  engineers  whom  the  completion 
of  the  Chinanfu  line  had  temporarily  set  free.  Some 
of  these  “travelling  for  pleasure”  in  Honan  took  a 

profit,  however,  will  be  carried  forward,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  year 
1905  will  prove  sufficiently  remunerative  to  pay  a three  or  even  four 
per  cent,  dividend.  As  an  index  to  the  number  of  native  passengers 
carried,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  best  month  of  the  year 
1904,  57,500  tickets  were  sold  to  Chinese.  I estimate  that  there 
should  be  no  difficulty  in  raising  the  gross  receipts  to  Mex.  $2,000,000 
(^200,000)  per  annum,  and  that  within  five  or  six  years  this  amount 
may  be  doubled.  The  railway  may  therefore  prove  a fairly  safe  five 
per  cent,  investment,  but  as  further  capital  will  be  soon  raised  to 
provide  for  the  many  extensions  planned,  years  must  elapse  before  it 
is  a sound  proposition. 

Every  economy  has  been  exercised  in  the  construction  and  working 
of  the  line,  for  the  Berlin  gentlemen  are  keeping  a very  tight  hold  on 
all  the  money  they  have  been  induced  to  spend  in  Shantung.  I have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  in  equipment  and  in  good  substantial  w'ork 
the  Shantung  railway  has  no  superiors  and  very  few  equals  in  the  Far 
East.  The  rails  are  laid  on  steel  sleepers  which  have  an  indefinite 
“ life  ” and  will  not  require  renewing  for  many  years,  and  the  rock  bed 
is  excellent  throughout.  All  the  bridge  work  and  culverting  is  first- 
class.  The  stations  are  neat  and  substantially  built,  and  superior  to 
any  others  in  China ; whilst  the  station  enclosures  are  clean  and  every 
detail  well  planned  and  carefully  thought  out.  The  whole  line  thus 
reflects  the  greatest  credit  on  the  Managing  Director.  The  locomo- 
tives are  the  modern  and  powerful  engines  of  American  appearance, 
and  are  driven  entirely  by  Chinese  who  have  been  trained  on  the 
Northern  Chinese  railways  and  induced  to  come  to  the  German  line 
by  the  payment  of  somewhat  higher  wages.  It  is  not  generally  known 
that  skilled  Chinese  operatives  and  mechanics  now  command  relatively 
high  wages  which  may  run  from  ^30  to  £60  per  annum,  or  an  increase 
of  200  to  300  per  cent,  on  those  obtained  a decade  or  two  ago.  The 
rolling  stock  is  all  good  but  in  no  sense  luxurious,  strict  economy 
being  everywhere  observable.  The  total  number  of  German  railway 
officials  is  52,  whilst  the  Chinese  number  1,976.  The  company 
possesses  the  right  of  extending  the  existing  line  to  Ichou-fu  in 
Southern  Shantung,  and  when  this  extension  is  made  and  p>ossibly 
three  others  (to  Kaifengfu  in  Honan,  to  Tientsien  in  Chihli,  and  to 
Laichoufu  in  North  Shantung)  a network  of  German  railways  will 
exist  which  may  have  far-reaching  results. 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


385 


great  interest  in  the  country  and  its  trade  channels; 
others  in  Chihli  were  feeling  their  way  and  surveying, 
and  one  and  all  they  stated  that  they  were  coming 
back  in  three  years’  time,  possibly  for  good,  “when 
the  war  was  ended,”  to  complete  their  labours  in 
China.  They  laughed  at  the  idea  that  the  single 
Shantung  line  was  their  only  work,  and  stated  con- 
fidently that  it  would  soon  be  but  a thread  in  the 
railway  web  Germany  was  about  to  spin.  Much 
interesting  information  may  be  picked  up  in  the 
quiet  of  Chinese  inns  hundreds  of  miles  away  from 
Western  civilisation ; for  arguments  lead  to  the 
showing  of  maps  and  plans,  and  these  are  followed 
by  note-books,  until  an  accurate  idea  is  obtained  of 
the  possibilities  of  the  future. 

All  this  activity  impresses  the  Chinese  in  various 
ways.  Some  are  contemptuous  with  the  curious 
unreasoning  Chinese  contempt ; others  are  merely 
suspicious;  but  whatever  their  outward  demeanour, 
all  are  at  heart  hostile  to  the  Germans.  I am 
referring  elsewhere  to  the  enormous  educating 
influence  the  Boxer  year  had  on  North  China,  and 
it  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  too  much  on  this  point 
here.  But  I would  say  that  the  Shantung  Chinese, 
high  officials  and  low-born  coolies,  understand  the 
political  situation  exceedingly  well,  and  know 
thoroughly  the  nature  of  the  outlook  which  awaits 
their  province  if  German  ambitions  are  not  arrested 
before  it  is  too  late.  The  Chinese  “ikfei  yu 

ja-tzu^^  (“There  is  no  help  for  it”)  is  entirely 
different  to  the  Russian  Nichevo.  It  means  there  is 


VOL.  I — 2 C 


386 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


CHAP. 


no  help  for  it  — for  the  time  being ; thereby  implying 
that  later  on  developments  may  come  of  a surprising 
nature.  Every  Chinese  knows  from  the  moment  he 
is  born  that  when  the  scales  temporarily  swing  up 
against  him  the  one  great  thing  to  do  is  to  gain 
time  — to  gain  time  at  all  costs,  — and  in  pursuance  of 
this  policy  to  delay  and  block  everything  as  long  as 
possible  until  finally  passive  resistance  reaps  its  due 
reward.  Any  Chinaman  or  group  of  Chinese,  acting 
individually  or  in  concert,  can  make  the  most  con- 
firmed obstructionists  in  Europe  look  foolish  by 
comparison.  Faute  de  mieux,  this  is  then  the  policy 
of  the  provincial  authorities  in  Shantung  and  also  of 
the  common  people : they  are  marking  time  and 
gaining  time,  in  the  hope  that  if  the  German  is  only 
given  enough  rope  he  will  hang  himself. 

But  by  this  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the 
relations  between  Chinese  and  Germans  in  Shantung 
are  strained,  for  they  are  not,  as  the  most  stringent 
instructions  have  been  repeatedly  sent  from  Berlin 
that  every  effort  must  be  made  to  bring  about  an 
entente  cordiale  by  treating  the  Chinese  with  all 
circumspection  and  kindness.  The  diligent,  plodding 
German,  with  a clumsy  bonhomie  which  is  rather 
false,  attempts  therefore  to  fraternise  as  best  he  can 
with  the  person  sitting  in  darkness.  It  is,  however, 
at  best  an  armed  neutrality  below  this  grinning  of 
ceremony,  for  there  is  no  love  lost  on  either  side. 
The  Germans  do  not  make  good  colonists  at  the 
best  of  times  and  have  but  little  sympathy  for 
Oriental  peoples,  and  when  they  are  confronted  by 


XVI 


ON  THE  GERMAN  RAILWAY 


387 


men  who  can  under-sell  them  and  meet  tricks  by 
amazing  counter-tricks,  they  become  both  confused 
and  savagely  angry.  Nor  do  the  Chinese  love  red 
tape  and  German  militarism,  and  they  have  also 
already  realised  that  if  Tsingtao  finally  becomes  a 
success  it  will  not  be  they  (as  has  been  the  case  in 
Hongkqng)  who  will  reap  the  benefit,  but  the  beer- 
drinking  foreigner  with  the  Imperial  moustaches. 

Thus  things  are  for  the  time  being  in  a curious 
state  in  Shantung.  A great  German  port  is  in 
process  of  being  built  up  at  an  expenditure  of  many 
millions  sterling ; an  important  railway  has  been 
completed ; mining  is  going  on  at  three  or  four 
places,  and  experts  are  looking  carefully  all  over  the 
province  to  see  what  it  contains,  whilst  men  are 
being  pushed  into  the  few  posts  that  can  be  found 
for  them  without  making  such . absurd  demands  too 
noticeable.  Briefly,  only  the  first  steps  have  been 
taken.  I can  say,  however,  with  some  authority 
that  the  land  of  Confucius  will  never  be  surrendered 
without  a struggle,  which  will  cost  Germany  what 
the  present  great  war  is  costing  Russia.  More  than 
that  it  is  unwise  to  say. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 

The  sea  fell  away  in  gentle  waves  as  we  pushed 
through  the  blue-green  waters  which  lap  the  beauti- 
ful coasts  of  Japan.  China  was  now  far  behind  us, 
and  in  five  hours  we  would  anchor  off  Nagasaki. 
The  night  was  still  young,  the  moon  had  risen  calm 
and  fair;  and  since  in  such  balmy  weather  there  was 
no  question  of  bed,  the  crowd  of  Japanese  passengers, 
gathered  together,  decided  that  there  should  be 
theatrical  recitations,  and  that  whilst  we  edged  nearer 
and  nearer  the  coasts,  the  spirits  of  heroic  Japan 
should  speak  from  the  lips  of  men  who  in  ordinary 
life  may  be  prosaic,  but  who  when  the  fever  is  on 
them  are  transformed.  It  was  but  right  that  there 
should  be  some  little  ceremony,  whilst  the  fighting 
men  were  dying  so  nobly  in  Manchuria. 

An  impromptu  theatre  was  soon  formed  by  much 
spreading  of  the  ubiquitous  red  blankets  to  which 
all  travelling  Japanese  cling.  The  line  of  blankets 
marked  the  amphitheatre,  whilst  a little  box  placed 
in  one  comer  signified  the  stage.  Four  candles  were 
arranged  symmetrically,  so  as  to  throw  their  light 

388 


CH.  XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


389 


on  the  verse-speakers  and  leave  us,  the  listening 
many,  in  an  impressive  semi-gloom.  Being  all  Far 
Easterners,  men  and  women  could  use  their  hams 
after  the  unwritten  fashion,  and  soon  everyone  was 
squatting  cross-legged,  bowing  towards  the  deck. 
Sweetmeats  and  glasses,  sake  and  whisky,  sparkling 
Tansan  water  and  pale  tea,  were  made  ready  and 
placed  in  an  order  of  military  precision  round  the 
attentive  ring;  let  the  play  begin. 

The  first  actor-speaker  had  been  a mere  cabin-boy 
of  venerable  appearance  and  clothed  in  questionable 
European  clothes,  until  those  possessing  a genius  for 
histrionics  had  been  sought  out.  Then,  after  a 
short  disappearance  he  had  emerged  in  picturesque 
kimono,  armed  only  with  a fan,  and  in  three  seconds 
you  had  forgotten  his  previous  identity  and  saw  only 
the  man  who  feels  and  can  express.  The  face  is 
but  a mask,  the  body  all  husk  — when  you  have  heard 
and  seen  a Japanese  recite  heroic  verses  these  things 
become  clear. 

Crouching  behind  his  stage,  the  hero  soon  began. 
The  voice  rose  and  fell  in  the  stilted  but  passionate 
phrasing  of  the  Japanese  stage,  which  expresses  as 
nothing  else  can  express  the  spirit  of  Japan  — all  the 
fire,  the  intensity,  and  the  dramatic  power  of  the 
nation.  The  circle  of  attentive  listeners  on  the  red 
rugs  sat  motionless  and  silent  after  the  manner  of 
the  East,  whilst  the  hero  of  the  tale  carved  his  way 
with  keen  blade  down  to  his  destiny.  The  ship, 
with  its  rigging  and  masts  thrown  into  sharp  relief 
by  the  clear  light  of  the  moon;  the  sparkling  sea; 


390 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


the  constant  thud  of  the  revolving  screw  and  the 
murmur  of  distant  voices  — all  these  took  their  proper 
place  as  a vague  background  in  Japanese  minds, 
whilst  the  voice  alone  occupied  the  foreground  and 
linked  the  past  with  the  present.  Suddenly  the 
voice  stopped,  the  fan  clicked  down  sharply  on  the 
little  wooden  box,  and  everybody  applauded  after 
the  Western  fashion,  which  in  the  East  has  an 
entirely  different  meaning.  The  venerable  cabin- 
boy  became  prosaic  again  and,  grunting  his  thanks 
under  a deep  bow  in  which  head  touched  ground, 
took  to  whisky  and  water  with  some  alacrity.  This 
is  the  unlovely  part  of  the  bridging  of  East  with 
West.  Others  took  the  cabin-boy’s  place,  and  thus 
drinking  and  applauding  the  night  passed  quietly 
away. 

Dawn  found  us  anchored  beyond  Nagasaki. 
Vague  mountain  shapes  were  dimly  visible  in  the 
thick  morning  mist;  a few  native  sailing-craft  were 
stealing  phantom-like  across  the  still  waters  out  to 
sea;  a single  fishing  sampan  had  begun  its  early 
labour  quite  close  to  us,  and  the  brown  fishermen 
clad  in  tight-fitting  blue  and  white-ringed  kimonos 
were  already  hauling  in  their  first  catch  to  a low 
chanting  that  slipped  peacefully  up  to  us. 

Presently  the  mist  fell  away  from  the  pine-clad 
heights  and  only  clung  to  the  water.  The  signal 
station,  crowning  a hill,  picked  out  our  flags  and 
fluttered  up  a duplicate  set  from  their  yard-arm. 
The  telegraph  rang  out  from  the  steamer  bridge, 
and  we  moved  cautiously  forward  at  dead  slow 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


391 


speed.  Nagasaki  is  mined,  at  least  officially  if  not 
actually,  and  the  harbour  cannot  be  entered  except 
under  official  escort. 

At  last  we  lay  off  the  quarantine  station,  with 
half-a-dozen  other  ships  about  us,  all  bedecked  like 
ourselves  with  their  signals,  and  waiting  gruntingly 
until  they  were  given  pratique.  Japanese  doctors 
soon  came  on  board  and  looked  at  tongues  and 
counted  heads  to  see  that  all  were  there  and  none 
sick,  to  the  never  ending  amusement  of  the  Chinese 
crew,  who  ask  one  another  after  their  fashion  why, 
if  they  had  no  fevers,  anyone  should  wish  to  know 
what  the  future  may  bring ; and  after  the  usual 
suspense  which  is  born  of  a sickly  fear  that  plague 
may  be  found  and  quarantine  imposed,  we  were 
duly  released. 

A little  Japanese  pilot-steamer,  half  covered  with 
flags,  now  picked  us  up,  and,  whistling  at  us  sharply 
to  behave  and  follow  closely,  steamed  off  at  a 
cautious  half-speed  towards  the  harbour.  The 
diminutive  wooden  steamer  ahead  of  us  curved  about 
in  beautiful  half-circles,  leaving  a clear  trail  behind 
along  which  we  must  follow,  threading,  in  an 
impressive  manner,  through  the  supposed  mine-fields 
and  snorting  at  us  sharply  if  our  helm  did  not  pay 
strict  attention  to  the  lead  given.  We  passed  into 
the  harbour,  leaving  the  beautiful  Pappenberg  behind 
us,  and  with  a final  good-bye  toot,  rewarding  us  for 
having  been  good,  the  little  pilot  steamer  rapidly 
turned  round,  and  steering  across  the  harbour,  took 
up  its  proper  place  in  a line  of  similar  vessels,  dressed 


392 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


as  carefully  as  the  best-drilled  troops  could  desire. 
No  sooner  did  a fresh  signal  fly  from  the  signalling- 
station  than  the  first  in  the  line  darted  off  to  the 
outer  anchorage ; whilst  the  remaining  vessels 
dressed  ranks  and  closed  up,  like  the  orderly  little 
Japanese  they  were.  Nothing  could  have  been 
more  characteristic  of  Japan  in  war-time  than  this 
early  morning  scene.  The  order  and  the  painstaking 
attention  to  detail,  down  to  the  very  number  of  blasts 
each  pilot  vessel  blew,  showed  the  thoroughness  with 
which  every  question  is  being  dealt  with  by  the 
authorities. 

In  the  harbour  lay  the  first  real  sign  of  war  — the 
refloated  Russian  transport  Sungari  which  had 
been  scuttled  on  the  eventful  9 th  February  in 
Chemulpo,  when  the  Varyag  and  the  Corietz 
met  their  fate.  With  rusty  grey  sides,  bent  and 
battered  super-structure  and  clean-swept  decks,  the 
Sungari  looked  but  sorry  salvage,  but  when  she 
has  passed  through  the  great  Nagasaki  docks,  and 
has  been  rechristened  and  reformed,  she  will  duly 
take  her  place  as  an  ordinary  China  and  Korean 
coaster  whom  no  man  may  know  for  a Russian 
prize. 

Nagasaki  harbour  in  war-time  looks  a little  thin 
and  lank,  for  much  traffic  has  been  temporarily  lost 
to  it.  Above  all,  Nagasaki  feels  the  loss  of  the 
Russian  trade  and  deplores  it  daily,  which  proves 
what  a curious  and  illogical  thing  is  war.  In  the  old 
days  Russian  transports,  the  ships  of  the  Volunteer 
Fleet,  and  the  magnificent  passenger  and  cargo 


xvn 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


393 


steamers  of  the  Chinese  Eastern  Railway  Company 
made  Nagasaki  their  coaling  headquarters,  and  the 
large-handed  Russian  was  the  man  of  all  men  who 
was  welcomed  ashore.  Now  all  that  is  finished, 
perhaps  for  ever,  and  the  Nagasaki  people  are  not 
very  happy. 

On  shore  the  little  signs  of  distress,  which  escape 
the  notice  of  so  many  people,  are  more  palpable 
than  afloat.  The  biggest  hotel  is  in  liquidation  and 
its  deserted  verandahs  look  forlornly  across  the 
magnificent  land-locked  harbour  as  if  asking  why 
sea-power  should  in  this  age  so,  manacle  the  shore 
that  it  suffers  thus  acutely.  Nagasaki  was  the  para- 
dise of  all  Russians  condemned  to  temporary  exile  in 
Manchuria.  On  the  fast  passenger  ships  of  the 
Russian  Railway  Company,  anyone  could  cross  from 
Port  Arthur  or  Dalny  in  forty  hours,  and  here  in  the 
bright  sunshine  and  brisk  air  of  delightful  Japan  all 
cares  could  be  speedily  forgotten.  How  often  did 
one  not  meet  men  — and  women  — at  Port  Arthur 
stepping  on  board  the  late  Dalny  train  with  the  air 
of  travellers.  Where  are  you  going?”  everybody 
asked.  ‘^Petersburg,”  came  the  prompt  reply. 
Everybody  smiled,  just  a little  with  the  corners  of 
the  mouth  and  a flicker  of  the  eyes.  It  was  the  old 
story,  for  Nagasaki  had  become  the  accepted  ren- 
dezvous for  everyone  living  in  the  Alexeieff  dream- 
empire,  and  everybody  went  there  for  a few  days 
when  matters  could  be  conveniently  arranged. 
Chief,  then,  amongst  the  heterogeneous  mass  which 
frequents  Eastern  hotels  were  always  Russian  men 


394 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


and  women,  large-handed,  enthusiastic,  picking  the 
roses  wherever  they  could,  and  forgetting  the 
scratches  with  the  eternal  Nichevo.  On  such  people 
half  the  to^vn  battened,  and  now  that  they  are  no 
more,  half  the  town  is  very  sad  and  poor  of  pocket. 

Even  the  Russian  fleet,  that  negligible  quantity 
in  the  serious  affairs  of  life,  had  a close  preserve  on 
the  farther  side  of  Nagasaki  harbour,  a vast  Japanese 
tea-house  of  surpassing  beauty  from  which  arose  by 
night  and  by  day  the  twanging  of  the  samisen  and 
the  careless  laughter  of  women’s  voices.  There  is 
no  woman  in  the  world  who  does  not  love  the 
Russian,  and  to  this  rule  the  enigmatic  geisha  of 
Japan  is  no  exception ; for  is  not  the  Russian 
generous  beyond  all  dreams  and  always  at  eveiy^- 
body’s  disposal? 

With  such  a paucity  of  visitors  in  Nagasaki 
therefore,  even  the  proud  Japanese  rickshaw  coolie 
is  not  above  soliciting  your  patronage,  for  life  is 
becoming  rather  a struggle  without  the  stranger’s 
stream  of  silver.  Up  the  hill  vrhich  Pierre  Loti  has 
made  immortal  with  his  Lady  Chrysanthemum, 
closed  shops  and  somewhat  deserted  streets  are  the 
rule  rather  than  the  exception.  Curio-dealers, 
vendors  of  tortoise-shells,  spurious  and  genuine, 
drinking  saloons,  money-changers’  shops,  all  tell  the 
same  tale  of  little  or  no  business  since  the  war,  and 
all  incline  to  curse  the  war  in  consequence.  The 
Chinese,  who  form  an  important  trading  colony  in 
Nagasaki,  are  hard  hit,  and  the  leading  money- 
changing shop,  where  you  can  buy  or  sell  in  any 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


395 


coin  that  has  ever  been  minted,  told  the  story  in 
very  few  words.  In  an  ordinary  year  their  net 
profit  was  ten  thousand  dollars;  since  the  war,  profits 
just  cover  expenses  and  no  more.  Nagasaki  is  hardly 
more  profitable  than  the  ancestral  village;  and  the 
stream  is  flowing  back  to  China  in  consequence. 
Many  of  the  curio-dealers  have  got  beyond  that  and 
have  closed  for  good  and  all.  Outside  the  doors  of 
all  those  suspicious  drinking  saloons,  adorned  with 
signs  in  half  the  languages  of  Europe,  the  collarless 
proprietors  and  uncorseted  ladies  of  the  establish- 
ment sit  listlessly  on  rickety  chairs  with  their  feelings 
writ  large  on  their  faces.  For  here  again  it  was  the 
lower-class  Russian  who  made  chequered  existences 
possible,  and  when  the  Russian  is  gone  all  other 
trade  of  the  Continent  of  Europe  seems  to  have 
become  shy. 

The  Nagasaki  coaling  returns  — for  the  port  is  the 
premier  coaling  place  of  the  Far  East  — show  a 
grievous  falling-off;  and  although  the  coaling-gangs 
have  established  fresh  records  in  rapid  work,  it  is 
because  they  are  more  hungry  and  therefore  more 
eager  than*  ever  for  their  marvellous  basket  work. 

Of  signs  of  things  military  there  are  none.  Per- 
haps there  are  a few  uniforms  in  the  streets  which 
in  ordinary  times  would  not  be  there;  but  Nagasaki 
has  long  ago  finished  playing  its  part  as  a point  of 
departure  for  the  seat  of  war.  Its  only  consolation 
can  be  that  it  is  so  close  to  famous  Sasebo.  A few 
miles  round  the  jagged  coastline  of  Kyushiu,  a 
narrow  but  deep  entrance  leads  into  an  absolutely 


396 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


landlocked  harbour.  Huge  wooded  hills  crowd  in 
the  bay  on  all  sides ; artillery  is  on  the  heights ; 
torpedo  stations  and  electrical  mines  make  even  an 
approach  an  impossibility ; and  so  concealed  are 
the  waters  of  the  harbour  that  from  the  town  the 
fighting  tops  of  the  warships  lying  at  anchor  below 
can  alone  be  seen.  This  is  Sasebo.  It  was  this 
which  so  long  disguised  the  absence  of  the  Yashima, 
the  fifth  battleship,  from  Togo^s  fleet.  The  Yashima 
was  long  stated  to  have  been  towed  into  Sasebo 
so  quietly  and  so  cautiously  that  she  was  repaired 
whilst  experts  supposed  that  Togo’s  effective  ships 
of  the  line  numbered  five.  But  in  Japan  precautions 
taken  during  war-time  have  been  doubled  and  re- 
doubled until  the  principle  has  been  clearly  estab- 
lished that  everyone  who  seeks  to  find  out  anything 
is  held  to  be  guilty  and  a possible  spy  until  his 
innocence  has  been  clearly  proved.  Thus  no  Euro- 
pean can  possibly  go  to  Sasebo  except  as  a prisoner. 
There  are  but  one  or  two  exceptions  in  the  persons 
of  Englishmen  representing  steel-plate  establish- 
ments and  engineering  firms,  and  from  these  it  is 
harder  to  extract  information  than  from  close-lipped 
Japanese. 

When  you  enter  the  harbour  the  very  first  launch 
which  boards  the  incoming  vessel,  after  the  quaran- 
tine people  have  left  her,  is  the  police  launch;  and 
whilst  uniformed  policemen  attend  to  the  steerage  and 
foc’sle,  polite  black-coated  interpreters  engage  the 
passengers  in  affable  conversation,  and  intermingle 
comments  on  the  weather  and  on  the  beauty  of  the 


XV^I 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


397 


harbour  with  a searching  cross-examination  which 
seeks  to  ascertain  the  exact  locality  of  the  ‘^certain 
place’’  from  which  you  have  arrived.  When  you 
have  landed,  you  can  only  do  one  of  three  things  — 
stay  at  Nagasaki,  take  another  steamer,  or  go  to 
the  main  island  by  rail  across  Kyushiu;  and  in  any 
case  your  subconsciousness  makes  you  feel  that  the 
omnipresent  eye  of  the  Japanese  police  is  fixed 
with  a disconcerting  stare  on  your  unworthy  coun- 
tenance, and  seeks  to  fathom  why  you  have  come 
from  the  ‘^certain  place”  you  specified,  and  if  so, 
whether  that  place  was  good  for  your  health.  It  is 
at  Nagasaki  that  a Cabinet  noir  is  established  for 
the  surveillance  of  all  mail-matter  addressed  to 
China  or  Korea,  from  whence  news  received  by 
letter  could  be  conveyed  by  telegraph  to  the  head- 
quarters of  Japan’s  enemies  and  perhaps  upset  plans. 
All  these  things,  however,  are  very  discreetly  and 
methodically  arranged,  and  if  you  are  sometimes 
inclined  to  cavil,  you  will  regain  your  temper  by 

reflecting  that  never  has  any  power  been  engaged 
in  such  a Napoleonic  struggle  with  so  little  out- 
ward fuss  and  flurry,  and  that  in  the  East  a 

secret  can  only  remain  a secret  by  stopping  up 

every  possible  leak  over  and  over  again,  and  then 
redoubling  your  caution  and  beginning  once  more 
anew. 

Thus,  hardly  have  you  taken  your  place  in  the 
train  which  carries  you  across  the  island  of 

Kyushiu,  when  policemen  appear  very  casually,  ap- 
parently absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of  their  own 


398 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


boots,  and  looking  as  if  they  were  oppressed  by 
liver  troubles.  They  do  not  see  you  at  all,  that  is, 
if  you  do  not  attempt  to  move  away;  just  as  the 
doctor,  who  is  about  to  commerce  work  on  a 
patient,  feigns  indifference  and  relieves  your  anxiety 
by  talking  of  other  things.  You  are  beginning  to 
be  a little  sensitive  on  the  subject,  too,  for  already 
in  the  station  waiting-room  you  have  been  twice, 
and  perhaps  even  thrice,  engaged  in  a conversation 
which  has  ended  by  boring  you  to  extinction.  You 
have  never  realised  before  what  a simple  remedy 
exists  for  people  who  are  full  of  conceit  and  wish  to 
talk  about  themselves.  Send  them  to  Japan  in  war- 
time and  let  them  run  the  police  gauntlet,  and  they 
will  be  speedily  cured. 

In  the  train  the  policemen  seat  themselves 
obligingly  on  either  side  of  you  very  close  to  pre- 
vent escape,  with  deep  -sighs  as  if  the  seriousness  of 
the  work  to  be  undertaken  is  no  laughing  matter. 
Neither  is  it.  This  time  closely  printed  forms,  with 
neatly  ruled  little  spaces  all  ready  for  you  to  fill  in, 
are  politely  pushed  on  your  knees  and  you  are  told 
to  write.  It  is  the  refinement  of  the  game  with  a 
vengeance.  Across  the  top  of  the  form  the  infor- 
mation stares  you  in  the  face  that  the  whole  island 
of  Kyushiu  is  under  martial  law,  and  a series  of 
ominous  regulations  concerning  military  secrets  — 
horrible  words  — add  to  the  rigours  of  the  situa- 
tion. 

The  form  is  not  so  easily  filled  up  as  you  imagine, 
for  not  only  must  you  be  able  to  write,  but  you 


xvn 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


399 


must  also  be  possessed  of  that  accomplishment  dear 
to  telegraph  offices  — the  extinct  art  of  writing 
legibly ; and  when  finished,  you  must  also  help 
each  little  policeman  with  his  Japanese-English 
dictionary,  and  give  an  impromptu  lecture  on  why 
you  were  born  and  also  why  your  parents  had  that 
fancy  for  your  name.  The  dictionaries  are  in  small 
type,  and  the  police  are  very  earnest  scholars,  and 
in  a rocking  train  many  pleasant  minutes  may  be 
passed  in  the  pursuit  of  the  obvious  to  no  con- 
clusion. 

At  last  it  is  over,  when,  perdition  seize  you,  you 
have  been  indiscreet  enough  to  address  a remark  in 
the  vernacular  to  a Chinese  merchant  travelling  to 
Osaka.  The  police,  waggling  in  their  white  trousers 
and  black  Eton  jackets  and  on  the  point  of  leaving 
the  carriage,  glance  at  one  another,  put  their  heads 
on  one  side,  suck  in  their  breath  ominously  through 
their  clenched  teeth,  and  then,  sighing  still  more 
deeply  — unkind  Heavens  ! — reseat  themselves.  A 
chance  — a pure  chance  — has  disclosed  to  them  that 
regulation  many  thousand  and  something  was  in 
danger  of  being  totally  ignored.  After  all  that 
long  Anglo- Japanese  lecture,  a good  reputation,  so 
painfully  worked  up,  is  wiped  clean  off  the  slate 
because  (a)  Chinese  is  a language  which  is  not 
spoken  by  the  ordinary  European  traveller  by  land 
or  by  sea;  (b)  in  Manchuria  the  common  language 
spoken  is  Northern  Chinese;  (c)  Manchuria  is  still 
largely  occupied  by  Russian  troops  (vide  general 
information  allowed  to  transpire  uncensored  in  the 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


400 


newspapers);  and  finally  (d)  all  persons  are  spies 
until  their  innocence  has  been  firmly  established, 
and  then  constantly  re-established  at  regular  inter- 
vals (vide  an  unpublished  work  with  sub- title:  '‘The 
Complete  Memorandum  on  War  Behaviours  in  a 
Belligerent  Country 

Under  such  distressing  circumstances  for  some 
time  nobody  spoke.  The  Chinaman  attempted 
what  is  impossible  for  a slit-eyed  people  to  do,  to 
wink,  and  exhibited  an  indecorous  desire  to  laugh; 
the  police  looked  as  if  they  would  explode  like  con- 
tact mines;  and  as  for  myself,  I merely  prayed  that 
the  train  would  not  run  off  the  metals  of  the  indif- 
ferent Kyushiu  railway,  or  else  I would  be  hanged 
for  a common  traitor.  Still  nothing  was  said.  Pre- 
sently the  policeman  on  the  left  took  off  his  cap 
very  deliberately  and  scratched  his  amiable  head. 
This  appeared  such  a good  idea  that  the  other 
policeman  promptly  followed  the  lead  thus  given 
him;  and  for  a time  the  ominous  silence  was  only 
broken  by  a distinct,  if  discreet,  scratching.  Twice 
the  policeman  on  the  right,  comforted  by  a hazy 
recollection  of  sub-regulations,  opened  his  mouth  to 
speak,  but  twice  the  policeman  on  the  left  silenced 
him  by  his  air  of  concentration,  and  the  situation 
showed  no  change.  At  last  the  diminutive  minions 
of  the  law  arose  and  took  their  departure  without  a 
word.  The  four  facts,  a,  b,  c,  and  d,  duly  enume- 
rated, had  been  too  much  for  them.  Mine  was 
evidently  a clear  case  for  the  higher  authorities  to 
intervene.  Seven  hours  would  have  to  elapse  be- 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


401 


fore  we  could  reach  the  Straits  of  Shimonoseki, 
and  the  telegraph  could  always  catch  me  before  I 
could  escape  on  the  ferry-boat. 

I do  not  know  whether  it  was  this  which  was 
responsible  for  the  fact  that  no  sooner  had  we 
arrived  at  Moji  and  were  hurrying  sleepily  down  in 
the  small  hours  of  the  morning  to  the  ferry,  than  a 
new  policeman  picked  me  out  of  the  crowd  for  the 
benefit  of  a black-coated  interpreter,  and  the  cross- 
examination  began  anew.  This  time,  however,  it 
was  all  right.  I met  a man  with  a sense  of  humour, 
and  in  ten  seconds  he  had  assured  me  that  I had 
escaped  court-martial. 

You  are  soon  swept  across  the  narrow  and 
treacherous  Straits  of  Shimonoseki,  on  whose  shores 
the  treaty  of  peace  between  China  and  Japan  was 
signed  in  1895.  A powerful  twin-screwed  ferry- 
boat, blazing  with  electric  light,  scuds  along  through 
the  six-knot  current  and  makes  for  the  Shimonoseki 
side,.  Each  shore  glares  with  electric  light,  which 
make  the  towering  fort-armed  heights  look  coal- 
black  in  the  night.  The  Moji  side  is  indeed  truly 
coal-black,  for  here  in  great  stacks  the  Kyushiu 
coal  stands  ready  to  supply  the  Far  Eastern  colliers 
with  their  fuel.  The  Shimonoseki  side  is  the  old 
residential  side,  which  has  grown  lately  in  import- 
ance through  the  trade  with  Korea,  for  Fusan  is 
but  a short  120  miles  across  the  seas,  and  it  is  from 
here  that  the  main  passenger  traffic  between  Japan 
and  Korea  is  centred.  In  the  stream  grimy  colliers 
crowd  a dangerous  anchorage,  and  hooting  launches 

VOL.  I — 2D 


402 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


rush  about  in  the  night  with  the  dangerous  full -speed 
manoeuvring  of  torpedo  craft. 

The  narrow  straits  are  full  of  night  sounds;  dis- 
tant coal-trains,  bringing  cargoes  to  feed  the  war, 
are  screeching  vaguely ; steamers  are  hailing  one 
another  as  they  creep  in;  cargo-boats  and  coal-boats 
are  moving  uneasily  before  even  light  has  come,  so 
that  not  one  precious  minute  shall  be  wasted  when  the 
day’s  work  should  commence;  all  Japan,  as  it  were, 
stirring  a little  uneasily  in  its  sleep  lest  too  much 
time  be  lost  and  the  morrow  come  unexpectedly. 

As  the  ferry-boat  grounds  against  the  pier  on 
the  main  island,  and  the  slow  trooping  out  of  pas- 
sengers and  baggage  proceeds,  daylight  suddenly 
comes.  The  electric  lights  cease  to  be  so  bright  on 
either  side ; the  channel  turns  inky,  treacherous 
black;  whilst  the  great  hills  which  frown  down  on 
the  water  begin  to  glint,  and  far  upon  the  horizon- 
line gun  emplacements  and  frowning  mouths  show 
that  an  entrance  into  the  inland  sea  through  this 
channel  is  as  impossible  as  the  forcing  of  the  Sasebo 
naval  station. 

Once  on  the  main  island,  you  have  ceased 
being  a suspect,  for  it  is  as  if  the  Shimonoseki 
waters  marked  the  boundary  beyond  which  no 
danger  can  come.  The  whole  of  the  island  of 
Kyushiu  stands  sentr}^  at  the  Korean  Straits.  If 
Kyushiu  is  closed  to  the  outer  world  and  no  signals 
can  be  conveyed,  then  the  patrolling  Japanese  ships, 
which  are  not  as  many  as  they  should  be,  can  per- 
haps safely  guard  the  loo  miles  of  water  between 


xvn 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


403 


the  heel  of  the  Korean  boot  of  land  and  the  Japanese 
islands.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  treachery 
in  Kyushiu,  the  Vladivostockers  can  make  sudden 
rushes,  snap  the  weakest  link  of  the  patrolling  chain, 
and  carry  death  and  destruction  to  the  never  ending 
stream  of  Japanese  transports  passing  to  and  fro 
between  Manchuria  and  the  homeland.  Lying  sunk 
in  the  middle  of  the  Shimonoseki  fairway,  a battered 
ship’s  superstructure  proved  the  truth  of  this  theory. 
Like  some  wounded  soldier  the  ship  had  dragged 
herself,  covered  with  mortal  wounds,  from  the  enemy 
until  home  was  almost  reached,  only  to  sink  down 
until  mother  earth  held  her  up  again. 

As  we  stood  waiting  for  the  train  a large  party 
of  naval  cadets  marched  down  from  the  station  to 
the  landing  stages  in  a compact  body.  Each  cadet 
had  a simple  sailor’s  bundle  tied  across  his  back 
after  the  Japanese  fashion,  and  all  were  marching  in 
such  an  earnest  and  resolute  fashion  that  one  could 
not  but  be  impressed  by  the  mere  look  of  these 
young  fellows.  Once  one  half-stopped  to  light  a 
cigarette.  The  Lieutenant  in  charge  uttered  a 
single  sharp  word  of  reproof  and  the  cigarette  was 
flung  contemptuously  on  the  ground.  For  a moment 
the  seventeen-year-old  boy  had  forgotten  that 
Spartan  self-denial  which  is  so  characteristic  of 
Japan;  but  no  sooner  had  he  been  reminded  than 
his  whole  person  showed  with  what  contempt  he 
looked  upon  his  corpus  vile  for  tempting  him  in  a 
moment  of  forgetfulness.  What  a spirit  the  Japanese 
have ! 


404 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


In  the  train  running  up  the  main  island  the  talk 
was  of  war  and  of  the  activity  of  Russian  agents  in 
Japan,  in  spite  of  all  the  many  precautions  which 
had  been  taken.  Here  on  the  Sanyo  railway 
measures  have  had  to  be  devised  to  protect  the 
bridges  and  the  tunnels.  A number  of  small  acci- 
dents had  occurred  during  the  past  weeks  all  point- 
ing towards  organised  train-wrecking.  One  tunnel 
had  suddenly  caved  in  and  blocked  the  whole  line 
for  several  days;  it  was  all  vague  and  difficult  to 
account  for,  but  measures  had  certainly  been  taken. 
At  every  bridge  and  tunnel  stood  sentries,  armed 
cap-a-pie^  and  over  peasants’  houses  the  little  flags 
which  could  be  seen  flying  betokened  the  head- 
quarters of  the  squads  charged  with  this  work. 
Here  the  railway  runs  along  the  enchanted  inland 
Sea  of  Japan,  and  it  would  be  no  hard  work  for 
train-wreckers,  operating  from  one  of  the  gem-like 
islands,  to  push  in  by  boat  during  the  dead  of  night 
and  dynamite  the  road. 

Thoughts  of  such  work,  however,  cannot  cross 
your  mind  as  you  gaze  at  the  perfect,  peerless  • Inland 
Sea.  Who  has  not  sung  the  praises  of  this  divine 
land-locked  sheet  of  water,  with  its  fairy  islands,  its 
lovely  shores,  and  its  bluish  mist  which  blends  sky 
and  water  in  the  far  distance  as  no  human  artist  can 
do?  At  Miyajima  the  glory  reaches  its  height. 
Thousands  of  high-standing  stone-lanterns  line  the 
shore,  worshipping  in  a reverent  spirit ; a temple 
which  is  the  perfection  of  artistic  grace  overhangs 
the  sea;  the  wooded  hills  vie  with  one  another  in 


A Hospital  Ship  swinging  in  from  Manchuria. 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


405 


poses  that  have  no  equals;  whilst  on  the  water  sail- 
ing ships,  seemingly  under  the  tutelage  of  the  god- 
dess Terpsichore,  dance  their  beautiful  sails  and  add 
the  last  touch  to  a beauty  which  is  ravishing.  And 
it  is  this  country  which  the  cruel  fates  have  engaged 
in  a death  struggle. 

In  an  hour  or  so  the  scene  changes.  You  have 
reached  Hiroshima,  the  great  armed  camp.  Here 
at  last  you  catch  more  than  distant  echoes  of  the 
war.  Hiroshima  was  nothing  much  of  a town  until 
the  war  with  China  ten  years  ago.  Then,  so  as  to 
be  able  to  direct  Japan’s  first  great  modern  campaign 
personally  and  to  be  able  to  understand  the  working 
of  every  detail,  the  Emperor  moved  his  Court  to 
Hiroshima  and  stayed  there  through  all  the  struggle. 
Since  that  day  Hiroshima  has  prospered,  and  now 
with  the  struggle  to  the  death  going  on  against  the 
great  Northern  Colossus,  it  has  again  become  the 
great  point  of  concentration  and  embarkation.  The 
whole  town  is  blocked  with  temporary  barracks  and 
horse-stalls.  Trains  pour  in  filled  with  reservists  to 
fill  the  gaps  made  in  the  ranks  of  the  four  Manchu- 
rian armies  by  the  heavy  spring  and  summer  fight- 
ing. Other  Red  Cross  trains  steam  out  slowly, 
choked  with  sick  and  wounded  soldiery.  It  is  com- 
puted that  there  are  always  thirty  or  forty  thousand 
men  coming  or  going  to  the  war  in  Hiroshima;  but 
with  all  this  concourse  streaming  through  the  town 
there  is  but  little  of  war’s  pomp  and  circumstance. 
It  is  rather  strict,  unlovely  mechanics,  and  that  is  all; 
a perpetual  checking  and  rechecking,  mustering  and 


4o6 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


dismissing,  loading  and  unloading  — an  endless,  tire- 
less piece  of  machinery  that  must  never  stop. 
Occasionally  some  bugling  is  heard,  but  never  a 
regimental  band,  for  there  are  but  two  such  luxuries 
in  the  whole  of  Japan,  for  amusement  and  not  for 
business.  Sometimes,  if  you  are  very  lucky,  you 
may  see  a battalion  or  a regiment  paraded,  but  this 
is  rare,  for  it  seems  as  if  all  lessons  were  learned 
long  ago  and  nothing  remained  but  to  ship  men  as 
rapidly  as  possible.  Hardly  have  you  time  to  feast 
your  eyes  on  the  sturdy  bodies,  the  bright  eyes  and 
the  well-kept  arms  and  accoutrements  before  the 
men  are  marching  away;  and  even  though  they  were 
to  remain,  there  is  always  the  ubiquitous  little  police- 
man in  his  Eton  jacket  to  move  you  on  with  better 
memories. 

Beyond  the  town  of  Hiroshima  are  the  temples, 
the  quiet,  solemn  temples,  with  their  deep-sounding 
bells  which  echo  so  peacefully  over  hill  and  dale. 
Here  you  are  your  own  master,  for  even  the 
Japanese  police  can  smell  no  sedition  in  incense,  and 
you  may  witness  reservists  in  their  thousands  pray- 
ing a last  prayer.  They  are  generally  not  alone, 
these  sturdy  men  belonging  to  the  Landwehr,  but 
have  their  wives  and  babies  with  them.  The  father 
always  carries  the  smallest  in  his  arms,  and  the  child, 
delighted  with  the  crowd  and  the  unwonted  uniform 
which  encloses  the  paternal  frame,  cries  its  pleasure 
aloud  — not  too  loud,  for  every  little  Japanese  must 
be  and  is  well-behaved  in  such  great  times.  The 
mothers,  however,  who  clatter  behind  in  their  wooden 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


407 


clogs,  dressed  in  gayest  kimono  and  richest  obi,  are 
not  too  cheerful.  They  cry  in  the  pathetic  Japanese 
way  with  their  heads  but  slightly  bent  and  the  tears 
held  back  to  the  last  moment,  welling  up  very  slowly. 
But  every  Japanese,  from  the  most  love-sick  woman 
to  the  smallest  doll-baby,  knows  instinctively,  if  they 
do  not  understand  very  clearly,  that  the  supreme 
moment  in  the  lifetime  of  their  race  has  come  and 
that  it  is  alone  a united  and  protracted  effort  which 
can  give  them  victory  over  their  huge  adversary. 

The  crowds  move  on,  the  Shinto  and  Buddhist 
priests  give  their  blessings,  bell-clappers  are  shaken 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  Gods,  cash  and  copper 
sen  pieces  fall  in  showers  before  the  altars.  In 
spite  of  tears  and  of  prayers  the  war  is  a relentless 
Juggernaut’s  car,  which  must  roll  on  crushing  and 
maiming  more  and  more  beneath  its  wheels.  Every- 
one knows  this;  but  it  is  kismet,  and  the  Emperor 
has  spoken. 

In  the  train  a uniform  has  added  itself  to  the 
crowd,  in  the  person  of  an  artillery  colonel  who  has 
studied  in  Germany  and  is  full  of  the  value  of  heavy 
guns  in  the  field.  He  laughs  at  the  idea  that  the 
Japanese  have  won  their  victories  by  a superiority 
in  artillery,  and  says  he  would  gladly  exchange  his 
weapons  for  those  captured  from  the  Russians  in 
the  very  first  battle  of  the  war,  the  Yalu  encounter. 
By  now  the  world  knows  that  the  Arisaka  gun  is 
not  what  has  given  Japan  her  victory,  but  the 
dauntless  infantry  and  the  spirit  of  Japan  which, 
infecting  everyone  and  everything,  makes  the 


4o8 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


accomplishment  of  impossible  things  possible.  The 
Arisaka  field  gun  is  a vast  improvement  on  its  pre- 
decessor, but  it  is  still  but  a poor  weapon,  and  the 
Japanese  artillery  will  have  to  be  entirely  re-armed 
after  the  war  with  a weapon  at  least  thirty  or  forty 
per  cent,  superior  in  range  and  fire-rapidity.  But 
the  Arisaka  gun  is,  as  I have  said,  an  immense  im- 
provement on  the  former  weapon.  Everyone  who 
saw  anything  of  the  expeditionary  forces  in  1900 
remembers  the  poor  artillery  of  the  Japanese  corps 
and  the  derision  with  which  the  Russians  greeted 
their  puny  batteries  when  shelling  solid  brick  and 
stone  walls.  The  Russians  estimated  that  it  would 
take  Japan  at  least  five  or  six  years  to  complete  the 
re-armament  of  the  artillery,  and  the  fact  that  before 
the  end  of  1903  everything  was  complete  was  one  of 
the  many  surprises  of  the  war. 

With  all  discussing  the  war  and  the  chances  of 
Port  Arthur  holding  out  until  the  arrival  of  the 
Baltic  Fleet,  the  time  passes  quickly  until  Osaka, 
the  Manchester  of  Japan,  is  reached.  Here  again 
an  important  if  mediocre  role  is  being  played.  Just 
as  Sasebo  and  the  Kyushiu  patrols  safeguard  the 
coasts  from  the  enemies’  forays,  and  Hiroshima 
musters  soldiery  by  the  ten  thousand  to  be  shipped 
across  the  sea,  so  does  Osaka  turn  out  cloth  uniforms, 
shirts,  socks,  and  every  one  of  the  hundred  things 
which  even  the  Japanese  soldier  must  have  in  the 
field.  Ammunition  and  guns  are  being  toiled  at 
night  and  day,  to  increase  the  weight  of  metal  in 
the  field.  The  whole  town  echoes  with  the  clang  -of 


xvn 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


409 


machinery;  and  for  once  Japan’s  azure  skies  are 
soiled  by  the  smoke  which  pours  from  thousands  of 
chimneys.  Placed  in  the  centre  of  one  of  the  few 
great  plains  of  Japan,  with  vast  rice-fields  surround- 
ing it  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  Osaka  has  a 
strategic  position  unrivalled  in  any  other  country. 
The  important  port  of  Kobe,  which  has  hitherto 
been  the  gate  to  Osaka,  is  but  twenty  miles  distant; 
the  sea  itself  is  but  a few  thousand  yards  outside 
the  town,  and  a gigantic  scheme  of  harbour  works 
is  to  convert  a silted  harbour  into  an  anchorage 
where  ocean  steamers  may  lie  alongside  railway 
wharves  and  speed  merchandise  from  the  doors  of 
factories  all  over  the  Far  East.  Numbers  of  canals 
intersect  the  city,  and  in  the  inevitable  guide-book, 
callously  thrust  on  the  stranger,  you  read  when  the 
native  writer  rises  to  sublime  heights  in  his  enthu- 
siasm for  his  beloved  town  that  ‘^hundreds  of  boats 
float  lazily  on  the  river  Yedo,  laden  with  citizens 
who  resort  thither  to  enjoy  the  cool  breezes;  whilst 
itinerant  musicians,  vendors  of  refreshments  and 
fireworks,  ply  among  the  merry  throng  and  do  a 
thriving  trade.” 

On  the  day  of  my  arrival,  Osaka  was  permitting 
itself  to  celebrate  a victory  after  the  manner  pre- 
scribed by  the  guide-book,  and  the  thriving 
trade  the  fireworks  did  more  than  justified  the  lurid 
language  I have  referred  to  above. 

But  it  is  no  time  for  laughter  at  Osaka.  If  the 
town  gives  much  in  the  shape  of  manufactures  for 
fitting  out  and  keeping  in  the  field  a vast  and  con- 


410 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


stantly  increasing  army,  it  receives  back  a grim 
return  — thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  sick  and 
wounded.  In  1903  a national  industrial  exhibition 
was  held  here,  and  the  great  stucco  buildings,  after 
advertising  the  arts  of  peace  and  the  huge  advance 
Japan  has  made  in  the  past  decade  in  every  direc- 
tion, are  now  crowded  with  Red  Cross  patients. 
The  whole  of  the  exhibition  grounds  have  become 
a vast  hospital,  which  no  one  could  have  imagined 
would  have  filled  so  quickly;  but  war  is  a grim  fiend, 
and  even  with  the  perfect  sanitary  arrangements  of 
the  Japanese  army,  beri-beri,  brought  on  by  the 
fish  and  rice  diet,  has  accounted  for  as  many  invalids 
as  the  rifle  and  bayonet.  Tens  of  thousands  of  men 
have  been  invalided  home  racked  with  fever  -and 
terrible  swellings  in  the  limbs  — the  Port  Arthur  be- 
sieging force  alone  sending  some  twenty  thousand 
of  these  victims.  . 

Even  in  Osaka,  however,  the  sights  of  war  are 
carefully  hidden  away.  You  may  pass  through  the 
town  a dozen  times  and  only  catch  a passing  glimpse 
of  white-kimonoed  Red  Cross  patients.  Sometimes, 
if  you  look  very  carefully,  you  will  see  recruits  and 
reservists  coming  in  — but  even  such  a sight  is  the 
exception  and  not  the  rule.  Everything  is  quietly 
concealed  from  the  eyes  of  the  busybody.  Never 
has  it  been  harder  to  realise  in  any  country  that  war 
to  the  knife,  which  must  in  the  end  exhaust  every- 
body and  everything,  is  being  waged  only  a few 
hundred  miles  across  the  sea  with  a deathless  fury 
unequalled  since  the  days  of  the  great  Napoleon. 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


411 


A great  expedition,  yes,  you  might  be  prepared  to 
admit  that  such  a thing  was  possible;  but  a great 
war  of  exhaustion,  never. 

The  three  hundred  odd  miles  between  Osaka  and 
Tokyo  are  accounted  uninteresting  enough,  for  the 
speed  of  the  trains  leaves  much  to  be  desired,  and 
the  soot  and  coal  dust  which  fly  in  on  you  make 
life  wretched;  but  as  you  pass  through  the  rich  rice 
country  of  Japan  you  have  ample  time  to  reflect 
that  if  the  people  are  poor  according  to  Western 
standards,  their  prosperity  has  vastly  increased  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years.  Every  town  from  Osaka  to 
Tokyo  has  been  improved  beyond  recognition,  and 
nowhere  do  you  see  the  miserable  poor  of  Europe. 
There  may  be  no  great  comfort,  but  there  is  no 
great  misery,  and  the  people  are  so  happy  with 
so  little.  Never  was  there  a nation  of  such  happy 
people  until  the  prosaic  West  began  to  push  itself 
in  and  disturb  a century-old  content,  born  of  a 
pleasant,  charming  life ; and  never  could  one  feel 
that  war  is  as  out  of  place  as  it  is  for  Japan  and  the 
Japanese.  Left  alone  in  their  delightful  country  the 
Japanese  are  everything  that  is  nice;  it  is  only  the 
corruption  of  the  West  which  has  forced  them  to 
become  suspicious  and  pettifogging,  and  is  now  in- 
tent on  destroying  a politeness  which  has  no  equal 
in  the  world.  / 

It  is  well  to  halt  for  a spell  at  Kyoto,  the  old- 
world  Paris  of  the  country,  for  here  in  this  piece 
of  the  real  Japan,  with  its  bewitching  streets, 
its  rich  pleasure-gardens,  and  its  magnificent  tern- 


412 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


pies  you  can  gauge  to  some  extent  how  the  war  is 
affecting  the  moneyed  classes.  Once  more  it  re- 
quires but  little  examination  to  tell  you  that  the 
strain  is  already  felt  here  in  Kyoto,  though  the 
people,  proud  as  Lucifer,  would  never  make  such 
a confession.  Perhaps  even  it  is  not  so  much  the 
strain  which  is  already  felt,  but  the  foreboding  that 
every  extra  yen  spent  on  luxuries  and  pleasures  will 
be  a yen  regretted  when  the  real  pinch  comes  in 
1906,  the  third  year  of  the  war.  Already  the  Kyoto 
silk  factories  are  complaining  that  their  trade  is 
being  ruined,  and  that  silk,  being  more  costly  than 
cotton  and  not  really  necessary,  is  being  declared 
taboo.  In  rich  Kyoto,  the  old  capital,  one  of  the 
first  things  anybody  with  an  eye  obser\^es  is  that  all, 
high  and  low  alike,  wear  kimonos  of  at  least  half- 
silk fabric,  far  more  elegant  and  graceful  than  the 
cotton  clothing  of  the  new  manufacturing  tovms  and 
the  rural  districts.  And  the  next  thing  you  see  is  that 
the  houses  are  more  luxurious,  articles  de  vertu  more 
abundant  — in  a word,  everything  still  a little  on  the 
old  scale,  which  existed  before  the  great  change  to 
modern  conditions  took  place.  In  Kyoto  you  catch,  as 
it  were,  a glimpse  of  the  ghost  of  old  Japan  — a ghost 
which  will  soon  be  only  a memory.  The  twang  of 
the  samisen  and  the  laughing  voices  from  the  tea- 
houses are  scarcely  to  be  heard  now.  There  is 
more  earnest  business  on  hand,  and  the  poor 
geisha  are  existing  in  a manner  knovm  only  to 
themselves,  for  there  are  few  who  now  come  to 
Kyoto  and  forget  their  cares  on  the  enchanted  hills 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


413 


of  Maruyama.  Kyoto  has  been  made  sad  by  the 
war,  and  the  old  capital  is  anything  but  a jingo. 

It  is  best  therefore  to  go  to  the  great  temples  — 
the  new  Honganji  for  preference  — and  sit  watching 
in  the  hush  and  gloom  the  old  people  who  come  and 
pray  for  their  sons  and  husbands  who  have  gone  to 
the  wars.  It  is  a wonderful  sight  this,  and  is  one  of 
the  little  things  which  shows  you  what  the  people 
are  thinking  about  whilst  they  remain  so  quiet.  The 
new  Honganji  temple  — what  a sight ! occupying 
a whole  quarter  to  itself,  an  enormous  temple  — rises 
solemn  and  vast,  beautiful  in  its  simplicity  and  its 
massiveness  beyond  belief ; rich  and  impressive, 
calm  and  pure,  the  whole  religion  of  a people  ex- 
pressed in  beautiful  woods  as  no  words  could 
express  it.  The  exterior  is  beautiful  because  of  its 
great  size  and  grace,  but  the  interior  is  divine  be- 
cause of  its  simplicity.  You  creep  up  the  great 
steps  in  your  shoeless  feet,  for  no  dirt  or  dust  may 
sully  the  spotless  floors,  and  it  is  meet  that  you 
should  be  reverent  in  the  brooding  silence  which 
hangs  over  the  temple.  You  gaze  in  awe.  Inside 
the  great  doors,  which  stand  barely  ajar,  all  is  half 
shrouded  in  gloom,  for  the  light  itself,  as  if  abashed 
to  trespass  in  such  sacred  places,  steals  in  very 
quietly  and  gently.  For  a few  moments  you  must 
stop  at  the  threshold  to  accustom  your  eyes  and  your 
heart;  and  then,  your  eyes  receiving  their  permission 
to  look,  you  see  clearly  all  around  you.  A great  altar 
with  richly  lacquered  floors  and  costly  ornaments 
stretches  almost  the  length  of  the  building,  and  rises 


414 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


high  above  the  rest.  Separating  off  this  holy  of 
holies  are  beautiful  altar  gates  which  look  down  on 
the  vast  hall.  Before  the  gates,  some  far  off,  some 
pressing  near,  crowds  of  devotees  repeat  their 
prayers  and  audibly  thank  the  gods  aloud  after  the 
courteous  Japanese  manner  for  bestowing  their 
attention  to  such  trivial  demands.  Humility  is  the 
fountain  of  all  virtue,  and  here  you  will  see  rich  and 
poor  alike  bowing  down  at  their  prayers. 

More  than  anything  else,  the  flowers  on  the  altars 
will  clamour  for  your  attention.  Great  vases  are 
filled  with  them  — beautiful  vases  fashioned  by  the 
most  cunning  artists  and  of  the  choicest  Kyoto 
workmanship.  Every  day  these  vases  are  filled 
from  the  floral  offerings  sent  by  the  rich ; every 
day  the  altars  are  decked  with  new  garlands.  And 
lest  some  dust  should  stray  on  to  the  lacquered 
floors,  priests  pass  continually,  moving  soft  cloth 
brooms  along  their  shining  surface. 

You  will  not  see  all  the  multitude  pressing  for- 
ward too  closely.  The  old  peasant  women,  who 
have  come  from  very  far  so  that  their  sons  in  the  field 
may  benefit  by  their  virtue,  seem  to  hide  far  away 
behind  the  massive  teak  pillars  supporting  the  great 
dome,  and  say  their  prayers  very  humbly  and  very 
quietly,  because  they  are  so  poor  and  so  insignificant 
that  it  cannot  matter  much  to  the  gods  if  their 
offspring  die  or  not.  Stay  in  this  great  Honganji 
temple,  and  witness  this  sad  peasant  procession 
defiling,  and  you  hate  all  wars  and  know  that  they 
are  wicked.  Poor  peasant  women  from  the  country 


xvn 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


415 


places  who  feed  the  war  with  your  best,  I hope  the 
gods  will  be  kind  and  your  prayers  answered. 

Once  more  the  scene  changes  as  you  take  your 
place  in  the  night  express  which  runs  up  to  Tokyo. 
It  is  a new  bustling  throng  you  meet,  engaged  in 
money-making.  Osaka  manufacturers,  contractors, 
army  agents,  and  many  others  who  are  making  much 
money  by  the  war  are  running  up  to  the  capital  on 
business  bent;  and  it  is  a lucky  man  who  secures  a 
sleeping  berth.  Even  five  years  ago  first-class  com- 
partments were  but  little  patronised  by  well-to-do 
Japanese,  because  the  extra  expense  was  deemed 
unnecessary.  To-day  the  first-class  carriages  are  as 
crowded  as  the  second  and  the  third,  and  sleeping 
compartments  in  the  night  trains  must  be  reserved 
ahead.  Small  things  like  this  show  the  great 
changes  in  the  standard  of  living  and  the  increased 
prosperity  of  the  Island  Empire  which  have  been 
brought  about  by  the  development  of  the  country, 
and  testify  to  the  fact  that  when  peace  finally  comes 
an  expansion  as  phenomenal  as  that  after  the 
Chinese  war  will  convert  Japan  into  a trading 
nation,  the  volume  of  whose  yearly  commerce  will 
soon  bear  comparison  with  European  countries  of 
first-class  importance. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  are  already  half  a 
million  men  in  Manchuria,  the  rural  districts  show 
but  few  signs  of  their  absence,  and  the  total  must 
rise  much  higher  before  the  drain  in  flesh  and  blood 
is  seriously  felt  in  Japan.  Perhaps  peasant  women 
are  doing  more  work  in  the  fields,  and  are  replacing 


4i6 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


their  absent  lords  by  merely  doubling  their  own 
work  — but  only  in  the  autumn  harvesting  has  this 
been  noticed  for  the  first  time. 

At  wayside  stations  you  are  reminded  of  the  war 
by  often  seeing  recruits,  still  in  civilian  attire,  com- 
ing down  to  the  train  arrayed  in  their  best  for  the 
last  time.  They  get  a good  send-off,  do  these  re- 
cruits, and  one  which  they  must  remember  in  the 
supreme  moment  when  they  climb  heights  capped 
by  fierce-looking  Russian  heads  or  ford  shell- 
splashed  rivers.  Whole  villages  escort  them  to  the 
station,  with  many  flags  and  streamers  flying  and 
fiendish  attempts  at  western  music ; and  as  the 
train  steams  in,  these  placid  peasants  stand  around 
the  new’  soldier  and  give  many  parting  hints.  The 
oldest  men  of  these  strange  escorts  are  very  old  — 
three  I saw  in  a single  hour  who  still  retained  the 
top-knot  and  half-shaven  head  of  feudal  Japan  — ■ and 
many  of  such  men  must  have  taken  part  in  the 
fierce  clan-fighting  which  buried  the  old  and  gave 
birth  to  the  new  so  few  decades  ago.  You  can  be 
quite  certain  of  one  thing  — that  the  men  from  the 
country  districts  will  never  hoist  the  white  flag,  no 
matter  in  what  predicament  they  find  themselves; 
every  one  of  them  has  received  parting  instructions 
from  the  grey-beards,  who  have  reminded  them  how 
their  fathers  died,  and  that  no  Japanese  ever  sur- 
renders to  the  enemy,  but  only  accepts  death.  These 
things  will  count  in  the  end.  And  in  this  fashion, 
with  driblets  of  recruits  and  Banzais,  the  train  reaches 
the  capital. 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


417 


If  Kyoto  is  sad,  Tokyo  is  the  very  reverse.  Every 
capital  is  always  a jingo;  for  the  spending  and 
receiving  departments,  having  to  display  greater 
activity  than  ever,  promote  a corresponding  activity 
in  every  branch  of  business,  and  allow  fortunes  to 
be  made.  Many  people,  too,  crowd  to  the  capital  in 
war-time  who  are  generally  content  to  vegetate 
elsewhere.  Japan  is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  The 
best  and  earliest  information  is  only  to  be  obtained 
in  Tokyo,  and  here  by  night  and  by  day  newspaper 
boys  armed  with  clanging  bells  race  round  the  city 
carrying  their  go-kai,  or  war-extras,  with  the  latest 
news  from  the  front. 

It  was  the  day  of  Liaoyang  on  the  occasion  of 
this  arrival,  and  what  an  excitement.  A vague  fear, 
beginning  on  those  most  sensitive  of  modern  baro- 
meters, the  stock  and  produce  exchanges,  had  been 
spreading  for  several  weeks,  until  everybody  was 
secretly  uneasy,  although  no  one  spoke  a word. 
Port  Arthur  had  been  expected  to  fall  in  July, 
because  the  battle  of  Nanshan  had  been  totally  mis- 
understood by  the  populace,  and  because  it  is  no 
Government’s  business  to  explain  intricacies.  Pre- 
parations to  celebrate  that  auspicious  event  were 
begun  in  June,  continued  in  July,  and  when  August 
came  with  vague  rumours  of  terrible  losses  in  front 
of  the  impregnable  fortress,  and  of  Kuropatkin’s 
great  entrenched  strength  at  Liaoyang,  the  wise 
ones  began  to  shake  their  heads.  The  end  of  August 
and  the  first  days  of  September  were  the  most  criti- 
cal felt  in  Japan.  Then,  when  Liaoyang  really 

VOL.  I — 2 E 


4i8 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


turned  out  to  be  victory,  a wave  of  optimism  swept 
over  the  capital,  and  the  Port  Arthur  decorations 
were  utilised  for  a grand  Liaoyang  celebration,  and 
the  Banzai  processions  and  the  huge  crowds  became 
the  topic  of  the  hour. 

It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  with  all  its 
reserve  the  popular  imagination  in  Japan  is  as  foolish 
as  the  popular  imagination  of  most  countries.  Every- 
one has  allowed  an  idea  to  grow  up  that  the  war  is 
not  such  a terrible  affair  after  all,  as  had  been  first 
imagined,  and  it  has  required  the  Mikado’s  wise 
rescripts,  courageously  issued  when  people  were 
feeling  very  happy,  to  correct  this  feeling.  Few 
people  living  in  Europe  can  realise  how  wise  a 

monarch  is  the  Emperor  of  Japan.  Endowed  with 
a power  which  is  not  only  absolute  but  almost 
divine,  he  does  not  require  to  be  guided  by  the  dic- 
tates which  rule  the  rest  of  mankind.  And  yet  he 
has  set  to  work  to  be  a ruler  in  the  most  modern 
sense  of  the  word,  and  to  understand  and  grasp 
every  detail  which  may  help  him  in  the  exercise 

of  his  high  duties.  He  has  no  illusions  on  the 

subject  of  the  war,  and  knows  probably  better  than 
any  other  man  in  Japan  the  extraordinary  exhaustion 
which  the  conflict  may  bring  about  if  fought  out  to 
the  bitter  end.  In  the  studies  of  Japan’s  evolution 
from  mediaevalism  to  modernism,  too  much  credit 
has  been  given  to  the  makers  of  modern  Japan  and 
too  little  to  the  Emperor  himself.  For  the  Mikado 
possesses  to  an  extraordinary  degree  the  gift  of 

sound  and  calm  judgment,  and  no  mass  of  detail 


Japanese  Children  watching  a Banzin  Procession. 


[Face  page  419, 


A Nikko  Temple. 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


419 


confuses  the  sober  decision  at  which  he  inevitably 
arrives.  I believe  the  personality  of  the  Mikado  will 
count  for  much  when  the  war  reaches  its  final  stages. 

With  Tokyo  feverish  and  go-kai-ridden,  and  the 
whole  city  engaged  in  the  tremendous  task  of  pro- 
viding for  the  war,  it  is  a relief  to  go  up  into  the 
cool  mountains  of  Nikko  and  Chusenji,  far  from 
the  centres  that  are  feeding  the  flames.  Here  the 
celebrations  which  have  already  finished  elsewhere 
are  only  just  commencing.  Little  lantern  pro- 
cessions with  everybody  arrayed  in  absurd  costumes 
and  huge  Russian  moustaches  parade  the  streets 
at  night  and  delight  the  children.  Banzais  rend 
the  air  far  and  wide,  and  the  women  carry  their 
babies  about,  each  clutching  a tiny  flag  — the  flag 
of  the  flaming  sun  on  the  spotless  background.  In 
a year  there  may  be  no  such  waving  and  cheering, 
for  the  war  is  still  very  young,  and  the  people  do 
not  yet  understand,  although  many  of  them  have 
forebodings. 

But  still  how  deep  the  spirit  of  old  Japan  is 
entwined  about  the  heart  of  the  people,  no  matter 
what  may  happen,  is  shown  by  a letter  written  by 
one  of  those  struggling  students  who  throng  the 
Japanese  Universities  and,  living  on  a miserable 
pittance,  manage  to  keep  body  and  soul  together 
until  they  graduate.  After  detailing  from  the 
purely  Japanese  point  of  view  how  the  war  com- 
menced, he  goes  on  in  a quaint  English  which  some- 
how seems  to  translate  the  Japanese  idea  more  correctly 
than  polished  prose. 


420 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


‘‘I  will  now  tell  you  a story  of  peace  and  war. 
When  a child  cries,  since  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
his  parents  reprove  him  by  mildly  asking:  ‘Would 
you  then  become  a Russian?^  WTiereupon  the 
child,  much  abashed,  will  immediately  become  dis- 
creet. But  if  the  child  is  very  disobedient  his 
parents  sternly  say,  ‘You  are  a Russian  boy,  it  is 
quite  certain.’  On  hearing  this  no  child  can  remain 
silent,  but  fiercely  says:  ‘I  am  not  a Russian  but 
a Japanese,  and  when  I am  big  I shall  fight  too. 
You  may  beat  me,  but  you  may  not  insult  me.’ 
From  these  words,  dear  sir,  you  will  see  that  it 
is  difficult  for  us  not  to  succeed.” 

Yes,  it  will  be  difficult  for  the  Japanese  not  to 
succeed,  if  mortal  men  can;  for  the  Emperor  has 
spoken,  and  were  it  necessary  for  the  forty-six 
millions  who  inhabit  these  islands  to  march  in  one 
vast  concourse  into  the  seas  which  surround  them, 
they  would  do  so  without  a murmur.  Such  is  the 
extraordinary  nature  of  the  spirit  which  animates 
this  people. 

The  sea,  however,  is  not  going  to  be  called  upon 
to  receive  such  a grim  testimony  of  a people’s 
devotion,  but  instead  is  doing  its  share  of  the  work 
in  bringing  back  to  health  and  happiness  those  of 
the  soldiery  who  have  been  fortunate  enough  to 
have  been  merely  wounded.  Along  the  sea-shore 
in  quiet  villages,  which  gaze  up  awe-struck  at  peer- 
less snow-capped  Fuji,  you  will  at  last  come  across 
the  convalescent  wounded,  quartered  in  their 
thousands  in  inns,  private  houses,  and  farms.  Each 


Fuji,  the  Sacred  Mountain. 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


421 


man  is  dressed  simply  and  comfortably  in  a heavy 
white  kimono  with  the  Geneva  cross  sewn  on  a 
sleeve  and  a cool  white  cap  on  his  head.  Every 
day  sees  fresh  contingents  marched  from  railway 
and  tram-car  stations,  and  every  man  of  all  these 
thousands,  be  he  humble  private  or  field-officer, 
receives  exactly  the  same  careful  treatment  and  the 
same  attention.  Indeed,  the  Japanese  hospital  ar- 
rangements of  this  war  will  serve  for  many  a long 
day  as  a model  for  the  rest  of  the  world. 

A little  examination  brings  to  light  all  sorts  of 
well-thought-out  details,  showing  that  everything 
has  been  thrashed  out  before  being  put  into  execu- 
tion. The  men  quartered  high  up  near  the  lower 
slopes  of  great  Fuji  are  the  beri-beri  patients  who 
require  pure  mountain  air  to  chase  away  the  humours 
and  the  fever  which  have  invalided  them.  The  air 
is  cold  here  at  night,  even  in  summer,  and  so  these 
men  have  thick  cotton-wadded  kimonos.  Lower 
down  you  come  on  a different  class  of  men  — their 
kimonos  are  only  slightly  wadded;  and  finally  on  the 
hot  sea-shore  there  is  no  wadding  at  all.  The  men 
walking  out  look  somewhat  incongruous  in  their 
unlovely  ammunition  boots  and  white  kimonos,  but 
you  soon  find  out  the  reason  why  they  are  en- 
couraged to  take  up  the  wearing  of  hard  foot-gear 
as  soon  as  possible.  The  Japanese  foot  does  not 
love  hard  leather,  and  these  men  having  been 
weeks  in  hospital  have  to  break  their  feet  in  again 
as  quickly  as  possible  and  harden  them,  or  else  they 
would  soon  become  footsore  as  so  many  of  the 


422 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


CHAP. 


recruits  have  been.  Tiny  badges  alone  distinguish 
one-year  volunteers  from  the  ordinary  conscripts, 
and  again  officers  and  non-commissioned  men  have 
only  the  same  trifling  marks,  whilst  their  clothing 
remains  identical. 

It  is  interesting,  too,  gaining  confidences  little  by 
little  and  hearing  the  tale  of  battles  told  and  re-told 
by  classifying  the  wounds.  Nanshan  and  Port 
Arthur  heroes  are  easily  distinguished  in  the  main 
— they  are  nearly  all  shot  from  above,  the  bullet 
piercing  the  shoulder  or  face  and  coming  out  through 
the  body.  The  Yalu  men  belong  to  the  severely 
wounded  category  with  great  scars  on  them  made 
by  bursting  shells  which  have  taken  a terrible  time  to 
heal.  From  Telissu  and  Motienling  come  bayonet- 
wounded,  and  from  recent  Liaoyang  every  descrip- 
tion; shell,  barbed-wire,  bullet,  sword,  and  revolver 
scarring  all  bodies.  But  what  beautiful  wounds 
from  the  medical  point  of  view.  With  no  deadly 
uric  acid  poisoning  their  bodies,  thanks  to  the  clean 
diet ; with  perfectly  antiseptic  bandages  tied  on 
immediately,  and  a most  stringent  cleanliness  always 
insisted  on,  the  most  deadly  wounds  have  yielded 
to  a treatment  in  a surprising  fashion.  Men  shot 
two  or  three  times  through  the  body  in  places  that 
the  amateur  would  have  thought  vital,  grin  all  over 
and  slap  themselves  to  show  that  they  are  just  as 
sound  as  ever.  One  man  shot  clean  through  in  nine 
places  is  discharged  as  a convalescent  in  five  weeks; 
and  all  reinvigorated  by  the  beautiful  hot-spring 
baths  which  abound  at  all  the  Red  Cross  villages. 


XVII 


JAPAN  IN  WAR-TIME 


423 


are  fit  for  service  again  in  a time  which  upsets  all 
previous  calculations.  The  very  bullet  scars  draw 
up  to  mere  pin-heads  after  a month  or  two,  quite 
ashamed  of  themselves,  and  ugly  marks  are  almost 
things  of  the  past  with  the  Japanese. 

Thus  Japan  in  war-time.  From  Sasebo  and  the 
Kiushiu  a watch  is  kept  over  the  command  of  the 
sea ; Shimonosaki  bars  the  entrance  to  the  vitals 
of  the  country  and  leads  in  the  new  traffic  with 
Korea ; Hiroshima  concentrates,  organises,  entrains 
and  ships  the  ever  flowing  tide  of  soldiery;  Osaka 
is  but  a vast  war-factory  and  as  great  a hospital; 
Kyoto  perhaps  weeps  a little;  Tokyo  plans  and 
celebrates,  disseminates  war-news  and  receives  the 
war  contributions,  and  is  loyally  jingo  to  the  death; 
and  around  all  these  places  right  up  to  the  utmost 
north  of  the  islands  the  whole  country  is  sending  its 
best  flesh  and  blood  without  a whimper  or  a murmur 
to  feed  the  war.  And  in  spite  of  all  these  things 
you  have  great  difficulty  in  realising  that  the  great 
war  is  really  raging  and  is  not  merely  a horrid 
dream.  It  will  not  be  until  1906  that  the  country 
will  be  a little  lean  and  hungry  and  the  war  a matter 
of  course.  Perhaps  then  it  will  be  best  to  call  a 
halt;  if  the  signs  are  then  springing  up  from  every 
comer,  as  they  do  now  in  Nagasaki  and  Kyoto,  or 
else  the  country  may  bleed  to  death  internally 
without  the  world  knowing  it.  Oh  Japanese ! you 
are  a wonderful  people,  and  mighty  fighters. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

MISREPRESENTATIONS  AND  MISUNDERSTANDINGS 

If  you  come  to  Japan  for  the  first  time,  or  even 
for  the  second,  you  wonder  how  it  is  possible  for 
people  to  have  any  opinion  excepting  one  about  the 
country.  The  scenery  is  wonderful ; the  climate 
nearly  always  delightful ; the  women  the  most 
picturesque  in  the  world;  and  last,  but  not  least, 
the  houses  and  the  life  you  see  around  you  are 
fascinating  in  the  highest  degree.  Then  there  is 
such  bright  sunshine,  such  woods  and  such  lakes, 
and  a coast-line  which  is  every  artist’s  rapture. 
And  yet  with  all  these  things  the  Far  Eastern 
European,  to  whom  the  Orient  has  become  the 
whole  of  life,  is  often  full  of  bile  and  bitterness 
and  has  not  many  good  words  to  say  about  either 
the  country  or  its  inhabitants.  How  does  this 
thing  come  about?  It  is  a subject  worthy  of  some 
investigation,  since  many  disgusted  ones  are  making 
it  bulk  large  in  their  writings  and  are  creating  some 
dismay  and  apprehension  regarding  the  peril  which 
the  war  has  created.  To  understand  fully  it  is 
necessary,  at  the  risk  of  being  tiresome,  to  be  retro- 


424 


CH.  XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


425 


spective  and  even  historical,  so  that  things  may  be 
considered  in  their  proper  perspective. 

It  was  the  book  of  Sir  Marco  Polo,  that  excellent 
Venetian,  which  made  the  first  mention  of  Japan. 
When  the  great  traveller  returned  from  China  in 
1295,  he  reported  that  he  had  heard  from  the  Chinese 
of  Chipangu,  an  island  towards  the  east  lying 
fifteen  hundred  miles  from  the  Asiatic  Continent. 
His  calculation  must  have  been  in  Chinese  miles 
or  li,  which,  being  but  a third  of  the  English 
measure,  makes  the  distance  given  amazingly  cor- 
rect. Marco  Polo’s  first  mention  of  this  island 
produced  a great  impression  on  the  discoverers  of 
the  fifteenth  century.  Columbus  had  Chipangu 
marked  on  his  map,  and  it  was  his  aim  and  that  of 
many  subsequent  explorers  to  find  a way  to  this 
reputedly  rich  island,  where  great  stores  of  gold  and 
silver  were  to  be  had ; for  the  existence  of  the 
American  Continent  was  unknown,  and  for  its 
discovery  Europe  has  therefore  to  thank  Asia. 

It  was  not  until  the  sixteenth  century  that  the 
first  European  actually  reached  feudal  Japan.  The 
Portuguese  had  the  honour  of  being  the  first 
arrivals,  for  in  1542  three  Portuguese  fugitives 
arrived  in  a junk  from  China,  and  after  a while 
they  were  followed  by  the  adventurer  Mendez  Pinto 
in  1545,  who,  sailing  also  from  China  in  a ship 
laden  with  merchandise  and  commanded  by  a Chinese 
captain,  has  left  behind  him  a vivid  record  of  what 
he  saw. 

It  was  Pinto  who  introduced  a knowledge  of  fire^ 


426 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


arms  into  Japan;  and  it  was  he  who  met  the  re- 
nowned Francis  Xavier,  since  canonised,  at  Malacca, 
and  by  handing  him  over  two  Japanese  fugitives 
enabled  the  learned  father  to  return  to  Goa,  then 
the  seat  of  Jesuit  learning  in  the  East,  and  there 
prosecute  his  studies  in  Japanese  and  prepare  him- 
self for  his  adventurous  journey  to  Japan. 

In  1549  Xavier  and  his  two  Japanese  companions, 
who  had  been  converted  to  Christianity,  arrived 
with  some  fellow  priests  at  Kagoshima,  the  capital 
of  the  province  of  Satsuma,  after  a perilous  journey 
in  a Chinese  pirate  junk.  They  were  kindly  re- 
ceived by  the  Prince  of  Satsuma;  but  the  political 
disturbances  which  were  then  tearing  feudal  Japan 
asunder,  and  the  evident  desire  of  the  Japanese  for 
trade  with  Portuguese  adventurers  and  not  for 
religion,  forced  Xavier  to  leave  Japan  after  a resi- 
dence of  two  years  with  but  little  accomplished. 
The  mission  he  had  established  and  the  few 
priests  and  converts  left  on  his  departure  were 
destined,  however,  to  play  an  important  part.  The 
internal  disturbances  gradually  subsiding,  Romanist 
proselytising  work  received  a great  impetus.  By 
1573  Nagasaki  was  distinctly  a Christian  city,  and 
thousands  of  people  were  converted  in  the  south 
of  Japan.  Not  only  did  the  common  people  submit 
to  the  new  teaching,  but  a number  of  the  Princes 
of  Kyushiu  became  converts  and  seconded  the 
efforts  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  by  allowing  Buddhist 
temples  to  be  torn  down  and  Christian  churches 
erected  in  their  stead. 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


427 


Unfortunately,  whilst  things  were  in  this  flour- 
ishing condition,  the  suspicions  of  the  great 
Hideyoshi,  who  had  become  the  dictator  of  Japan, 
were  aroused  by  the  gossip  of  a Portuguese  sea- 
captain,  who,  rich  in  the  experience  of  the  Indies, 
is  supposed  to  have  said,  ‘^The  king,  my  master, 
begins  by  sending  priests  to  win  over  the  people; 
and  when  this  is  done  he  despatches  his  troops 
to  join  the  native  Christians,  and  then  the  conquest 
is  easy  and  complete.”  So  Hideyoshi  took  prompt 
measures  to  make  such  things  impossible  in  Japan. 
He  ordered  all  foreign  religious  teachers  to  be 
expelled  from  Japan  within  twenty  days  under 
pain  of  death.  In  consequence  of  this  Edict  and 
the  evasions  which  followed,  six  Franciscans  and 
three  Jesuits  were  arrested  and  taken  to  Nagasaki 
and  there  burnt  alive  in  1593.  The  Japanese  had 
much  to  say  on  their  side  even  for  such  inhuman 
conduct.  For  these  early  Christian  missionaries 
had  succeeded  in  implanting  in  the  breasts  of 
their  princely  converts  a zeal  as  fierce  as  their 
own,  and  consequently  the  feudal  Princes  who 
had  adopted  Christianity  became  as  intolerant 
towards  those  who  still  held  the  native  religion 
as  the  most  bigoted  could  desire.  In  many  cases 
it  is  on  record  that  systematic  persecutions  were 
carried  out,  not  by  the  Buddhist  or  Shinto,  but 
by  these  Christian  Princes,  who  excelled  in  the 
gentle  art  of  forcing  their  opinions  on  others. 

In  spite  of  this  sporadic  attempt  to  uproot  the 
new  religion,  it  continued  to  have  a firm  hold  in 


428 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


chap;- 


Japan,  until  in  1614  the  Japanese  Government 
determined  once  and  for  all  to  stamp  it  out,  so 
that  no  possibility  should  remain  of  an  imperium 
in  imperio  being  set  up  to  the  lasting  disadvantage 
of  the  country.  Accordingly  in  that  year  many 
dozens  of  priests  are  said  to  have  been  shipped 
out  of  the  country,  and  a special  service  established 
by  the  Government,  called  the  Christian  Enquiry, 
which  searched  out  native  Christians  and  obliged 
them  by  the  most  horrible  persecutions  either  to 
renounce  their  faith  or  embrace  death.  Rewards 
were  offered  for  denouncing  every  class  of  Christian, 
and  Fathers,  Brothers,  Catechists,  and  ordinary  con- 
verts were  placed  on  a regular  tariff  which  granted 
so  much  for  every  head.  The  matter  has  been 
summed  up  eloquently  by  Guysberg,  a Dutchman 
residing  at  Nagasaki,  who  was  a contemporary  of 
these  events.  In  1626  he  states  that  Nagasaki 
had  forty  thousand  Christians;  in  1629  not  a single 
one  was  left. 

Meanwhile  the  Dutch  and  the  English  had  begun 
to  arrive  in  Japan  and  raise  new  questions.  As 
early  as  April,  1600,  Adams,  the  first  Englishman, 
arrived  in  a ship  named  the  Charity.  It  was  the 
sole  surviving  vessel  of  a fleet  of  five  ships  that 
had  sailed  by  way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  had 
encountered  the  most  terrible  storms,  and  had  been 
decimated  by  sickness  and  scurvy.  On  the  Charity 
but  four  men  could  walk  and  four  crawl  painfully 
on  their  knees  when  the  coasts  of  Japan  hove  in 
sight.  Adams  and  his  crew  landed  on  the  island 


xvni 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


429 


of  Kyushiu,  and  the  Princes  as  usual  accorded 
the  adventurers  a civil  welcome.  The  Portuguese 
traders  and  the  Catholic  priests  then  still  resident 
in  Japan  were,  however,  much  alarmed  at  the 
appearance  of  other  Europeans,  and  attempted  for 
a long  time  to  poison  the  minds  of  the  natives 
against  the  new-comers.  But  Adams  succeeded 
in  making  himself  useful  in  many  ways,  with  the 
result  that  the  Shogun  gave  him  a large  holding 
in  land,  and  that  Japan  became  his  permanent 
home. 

In  1609  a second  Dutch  expedition  arrived;  and 
mainly  through  the  efforts  of  Adams,  and  in  the 
face  of  the  most  violent  opposition  from  the 
Portuguese,  the  Dutch  received  a charter  granting 
them  the  privilege  to  trade  at  any  port  or  place 
in  the  Empire  of  Japan.  This  charter,  dated 
the  30th  August,  1 61 1,  was  the  authority  under 
which  the  Dutch  trade  with  Japan  began,  and 
under  wTich  that  peculiar  commerce  continued  up 
to  the  time  the  country  was  opened  by  Commodore 
Perry  two  centuries  and  a half  later. 

Spurred  by  this  Dutch  success,  English  mer- 
chants fitted  out  expeditions  to  Japan,  but  in  spite 
of  some  initial  co-operation  with  the  Dutch,  re- 
lations between  the  two  rival  nations  became  more 
and  more  inimical,  until  in  the  ’twenties  of  the 
same  century  the  English  closed  their  factories 
and  withdrew  completely,  having  suffered  a loss 
of  many  thousand  pounds.  The  disappearance  of 
the  Portuguese  in  1640  from  Nagasaki,  and  the 


430 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


Stamping  out  of  Roman  Catholicism,  left  the 
Dutch  the  undisputed  representatives  of  Europe, 
and  allowed  them  to  enjoy  their  monopoly  all 
through  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries 
undisturbed. 

It  was  not  until  the  nineteenth  century  that 
renewed  efforts  were  made  on  the  part  of  Europe 
to  establish  better  relations  with  the  Island  Empire; 
but  in  every  case  the  Japanese  steadily  refused 
to  be  drawn  from  their  seclusion.  The  Russian 
efforts  culminated  in  the  capture  and  imprison- 
ment of  Captain  Golovin  in  i8ii.  The  Ameri- 
cans made  a determined  effort  in  1837;  British 
no  less  than  six,  between  the  years  1845  and 
1849;  but  all  these  were  fruitless.  It  was  plain, 
however,  that  the  Japanese  policy  could  not  con- 
tinue indefinitely. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  in  1848, 
the  opening  of  China  to  foreign  trade,  and  other 
reasons,  made  the  question  of  Japan  a matter  of 
prime  importance  to  the  United  States.  It  was 
under  these  circumstances  that  Commodore  Perry, 
an  American  naval  officer,  succeeded  in  enlisting 
the  support  of  his  Government  and  preparing  his 
fateful  expedition.  Perry  left  no  stone  unturned 
to  equip  himself  thoroughly  for  his  task.  Every 
old  document  and  chart  bearing  on  Japan  was 
searched  out ; all  ancient  records  were  carefully 
digested;  and  in  November,  1852,  the  Commodore 
set  sail  for  the  China  seas,  proceeding  by  way  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  On  the  8th  July,  1853, 


xvm 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


431 


he  entered  Yedo  Bay,  as  it  was  then  called,  at 
the  head  of  a squadron  of  four  ships. 

The  appearance  of  this  fleet  was  the  signal  for 
the  most  intense  surprise  and  consternation  on  the 
part  of  the  Japanese  Government.  For  a long 
time  high  officers  prevaricated  and  attempted  to 
force  Commodore  Perry  to  proceed  to  Nagasaki, 
on  the  grounds  that  it  was  at  that  place  that 
foreign  relations  had  been  conducted  from  time 
immemorial.  It  is  interesting  to  remember  that 
Canton  had  played  a similar  role  in  China  as  the 
only  open  door  of  the  country,  and  the  Japanese 
were  thus  only  following  the  Chinese  precedent. 
Perry,  however,  resolutely  refused  to  accept  any 
such  compromise,  and  in  the  end  the  letter  from 
the  President  of  the  United  States  to  the  Emperor 
of  Japan  was  formally  handed  over  to  an  officer 
of  adequate  rank  at  Tokyo.  In  order  to  leave 
time  for  a proper  settlement  Perry  sailed  away  to 
Hongkong  with  the  promise  that  he  would  shortly 
reappear. 

The  Japanese  Government  was  now  at  its  wits’ 
end.  The  Shogunate,  or  military  Government, 
which  had  usurped  the  Mikado’s  authority  for  so 
many  centuries,  had  itself  fallen  into  great  decay 
and  now  possessed  only  a vestige  of  its  former 
power.  The  daimyos  were  all  devoted  to  the 
policy  of  seclusion,  and  in  the  face  of  such  oppo- 
sition it  was  almost  impossible  to  throw  open  the 
country  without  using  force. 

When  Commodore  Perry  returned  in  February, 


432 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


1854,  his  fleet  having  received  re-inf orcements  now 
numbered  seven  vessels,  all  being  well  equipped 
and  perfectly  able  to  accomplish  their  task  of 
forcing  open  the  door,  the  Japanese  answer 
was  awaited  with  no  little  excitement.  In  the 
interim  three  more  American  ships  arrived,  and 
by  this  time  the  Shogun’s  Government  saw  that 
resistance  was  out  of  the  question.  After  much 
deliberation  and  discussion  a treaty  was  agreed 
upon,  and  on  the  31st  March,  1854,  the  signing 
and  exchange  of  copies  took  place.  It  has  been 
well  said  that  the  twelve  articles  partook  rather 
of  the  nature  of  a preliminary  convention  than  of 
a commercial  treaty;  for  apart  from  opening  two 
ports  the  conditions  under  which  trade  was  to  be 
conducted  were  not  settled.  The  first  step,  how- 
ever, had  been  taken,  and  England  and  Russia 
followed  promptly  by  signing  almost  identical 
instruments.  By  these  treaties  three  ports  were 
opened  to  international  trade. 

These  dealings  with  Europeans  produced  the 
most  intense  excitement  throughout  the  Japanese 
Empire.  Hostility  to  foreign  intercourse,  which 
had  slumbered  for  centuries,  was  re-awakened  and 
showed  itself  in  unmistakable  intensity.  The 
Japanese  rightfully  argued  that  the  Shogun  had 
had  no  power  to  make  treaties  with  foreign 
nations,  and  that  he  was  but  the  chief  executive 
officer  under  the  Emperor  who  had  usurped  all 
his  master’s  prerogative.  But  finally,  in  spite  of 
these  internal  discords,  commercial  treaties  in 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


433 


which  the  United  States  again  took  the  lead 
were  negotiated  in  1858,  and  intercourse  at  last 
commenced.  The  treaties  were  but  somewhat 
modified  reproductions  of  the  famous  Tientsien 
treaties  concluded  with  China  in  the  same  year, 
and  all  through  them  the  spirit  of  extra-terri- 
toriality, so  hateful  to  proud  peoples,  is  clearly 
to  be  seen.  Once  again  an  imperium  in  imperio 
had  been  set  up,  and  the  European,  safe  owing 
to  his  superiority  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  war, 
irritated  the  population  beyond  measure  by  the 
stand  he  had  been  able  to  take. 

It  was  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  for  a 
number  of  years  after  this  a succession  of  murders 
and  outrages  occurred,  rendering  residence  in  Japan 
extremely  precarious,  and  giving  rise  to  a mutual 
hatred  which  constantly  grew  in  intensity.  Feudal- 
ism in  its  death-throes  was  not  gentle,  and  roving 
bands  of  ronin^  or  men  of  the  samurai  class  who 
had  become  mere  swashbucklers  owing  to  the 
decadence  of  the  times,  wounded  and  killed 
foreigners  whenever  chance  threw  them  in  their 
way.  In  1863  a British  squadron  of  seven  vessels 
bombarded  and  completely  destroyed  the  rich  town 
of  Kagoshima  as  a revenge  for  a foul  murder. 
In  the  same  year  American,  French,  and  Dutch 
ships  were  fired  upon  repeatedly  by  shore  batteries 
and  men-of-war  belonging  to  various  daimyos. 
Both  America  and  France  revenged  the  insult 
offered  their  flags  by  bombardments  and  burnings. 
As  the  Shogunate  was  powerless  to  restrain  the 

VOL.  I — 2 F 


434 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


recalcitrant  daimyos,  or  exact  an  apology  from 
them,  a joint  squadron  of  English,  American, 
French,  and  Dutch  ships,  numbering  seventeen 
vessels  in  all,  visited  Shimonoseki  in  1864  a^ud 
destroyed  everything  in  existence  there,  and 
exacted,  further,  an  unjust  indemnity  from  the 
daimyos.  And  in  1864  British  and  French 
troops  were  sent  to  garrison  Yokohama,  and  for 
many  years  their  uniforms  were  a familiar  sight. 

Meanwhile,  the  internal  condition  of  Japan  was 
rapidly  going  from  bad  to  worse.  The  Shogun’s 
Government,  functioning  at  Yedo,  became  more 
and  more  hostile  to  the  Imperial  Court  at  Kyoto, 
and  the  complicated  question  of  foreign  relations 
served  only  to  aggravate  the  situation.  For  a 
time  the  expulsion  of  the  foreigners  who  had 
established  themselves  in  the  country  by  a display 
of  force  was  the  one  subject  of  discussion  and 
agitation,  but  finally  in  1865  the  Emperor  was 
prevailed  upon  to  give  his  Imperial  sanction  to 
the  treaties,  and  the  first  step  towards  a permanent 
settlement  was  made.  In  the  same  year  the 
daimyo  of  Tosa,  a prince  of  great  penetration, 
began  the  famous  agitation  for  the  restoration  of 
the  Imperial  power  and  the  retirement  of  the 
Shoguns  from  their  hereditary  office,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  impossible  to  continue  any 
longer  the  dual  form  of  Government  in  the  face 
of  the  new  foreign  complications.  In  November 
of  the  same  year  the  Shogun  resigned  his  authority 
into  the  hands  of  the  Emperor,  and  another  big 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


435 


step  had  been  taken.  Great  changes  now  quickly 
followed,  and  the  Emperor  notified  the  foreign 
representatives  that  hereafter  the  administration  of 
both  internal  and  external  affairs  would  be  con- 
ducted solely  by  him.  After  some  bloody  conflicts 
between  the  Imperial  troops  and  the  adherents  of 
the  clans  who  supported  the  old  order  of  things, 
in  which  the  reactionaries  were  completely  defeated, 
the  Emperor  and  his  Court  moved  to  Yedo,  the 
ancient  seat  of  the  Shoguns,  which  was  rechristened 
Tokyo ; and  in  honour  of  the  wonderful  changes 
which  now  followed  one  another  with  lightning 

rapidity,  the  year-period  was  changed  to  Meiji,  or 
the  period  of  Enlightened  Peace,  and  fixed  to 
begin  from  January,  1868.  Most  remarkable  of 

all  was,  however,  the  daimyos^  voluntary  surrender 
of  their  hereditary  rights.  In  1869  two  hundred 
and  forty-one  daimyos  united  in  asking  the  Emperor 
to  take  back  their  hereditary  territories,  and  in 
response  the  Emperor  issued  a decree  announcing 
the  abolition  of  the  daimiates  and  the  restoration 
of  their  revenues  to  the  Imperial  Treasury.  At 

one  stroke  the  whole  institution  of  feudalism  had 
disappeared. 

In  1872  the  first  railway  was  built;  and  in 

1876  Japan  succeeded  in  opening  Korea  to  the 
trade  of  the  world  by  sending  an  expedition  after 
the  Perry  pattern  and  concluding  a commercial 
treaty.  Everywhere  and  in  every  department  the 
Japanese  Government  showed  signs  of  the  most 
astonishing  earnestness  and  desire  for  progress 


43^ 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


and  enlightenment.  With  the  crushing  of  the 
Satsuma  rebellion  in  1877  the  old  order  of  things 
completely  disappeared.  Finally  in  1889  the  Em- 
peror promulgated  a Constitution,  which,  divided 
into  eleven  chapters  and  consisting  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  articles,  granted  to  the  Japanese 
people  the  fullest  rights  and  privileges. 

The  great  changes,  here  so  briefly  touched  upon, 
which  had  so  completely  altered  the  government  and 
life  of  the  country,  had  not  been  without  effect  on 
the  treaty  ports.  European  merchants  and  others 
found  that  in  place  of  the  former  laisser  alter  policy 
of  the  earlier  times,  a definite,  consistent,  and 
dignified  attitude  was  adopted  by  the  Japanese 
Government,  which  aimed  at  limiting  and  winning 
back  many  of  the  privileges  which  had  been  extorted 
by  the  earlier  treaty-makers,  and  which  had  forced  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country  into  a position  of 
inferiority  where  the  white  man  was  concerned. 
The  debatable  question  of  extra-territoriality  was 
one  which  could  not  but  provide  ceaseless  causes  of 
irritation  for  the  Japanese  Government.  Although 
Japan  had  progressed  in  an  extraordinary  fashion, 
the  foreigner  within  her  gates  was  still  subject  only 
to  his  own  laws.  And  in  spite  of  phenomenal 
progress  achieved  in  every  avenue  by  the  Govern- 
ment, the  old  order  of  foreign  residents  persisted  in 
looking  with  suspicion,  distrust,  and  the  gravest 
concern  on  any  attempts  at  curtailing  privileges  in 
trade,  residence,  and  property-holding  which  they 
possessed.  The  Japanese  Government  on  its  part 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


437 


succeeded  in  interpreting  the  extra-territorial  clauses 
in  a manner  in  which  China  has  always  signally 
failed  — that  is,  in  giving  Europeans  the  exact  amount 
of  privileges  to  which  they  were  entitled  and  not 
one  iota  more. 

The  agitation  for  the  revision  of  these  treaties  and 
the  abolition  of  extra-territorial  rights  are  matters  of 
such  comparatively  recent  date  that  reference  is 
seemingly  superfluous,  but  a few  notes  may  be 
nevertheless  of  use.  Successive  Japanese  Govern- 
ments approached  the  various  treaty  Powers,  who 
now  numbered  almost  all  the  states  of  Christendom, 
with  a view  to  placing  foreign  relations  on  a more 
dignified  basis.  The  sincere  efforts  of  the  Japanese 
were,  however,  neither  welcomed  nor  understood  by 
the  foreign  Powers,  who,  approached  either  col- 
lectively or  individually,  showed  themselves  bent 
on  extorting  the  hardest  possible  terms  and  offering 
a settlement  to  the  Japanese  which  it  might  have 
been  possible  to  accept,  but  which  the  people,  fully 
posted  as  to  the  real  attitude  of  the  European, 
would  have  lost  no  time  in  resenting  in  such  ways 
as  were  possible.  Thus  the  Japanese  Government 
had  not  only  to  satisfy  Europe  and  America,  but 
also  its  own  subjects. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  was  but  natural  that 
no  progress  was  possible.  Attempting  to  come  to 
an  understanding  with  the  treaty  Powers  sitting  at  a 
round  table  was  an  impossible  task;  for  whilst  the 
granting  of  tariff  autonomy  to  Japan  was  not  so 
difficult,  the  finding  of  a basis  on  which  judicial 


43^ 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


autonomy  might  be  allowed  was  quite  a different 
matter.  Various  half-measures,  such  as  the  appoint- 
ment of  foreign  judges  and  foreign  assessors  to  sit 
with  Japanese  judges  for  a term  of  years,  were 
proposed  and  dropped ; and  Government  after 

Government  was  wrecked  by  the  struggle  centring 
round  the  principle  of  extra- territoriality.  Nor  was 
this  struggle  a short  one  and  a matter  of  months  or 
years.  It  lasted  decades. 

The  date  for  the  revision  of  the  treaties  had  been 
fixed  for  the  year  1872;  but  it  was  not  until  the 
year  1878  that  in  an  American  treaty  the  first  signs 
of  a more  reasonable  attitude  were  seen.  In  the 
American  treaty  certain  minor  concessions  were 
granted,  but  the  stipulation  that  those  provisions 
which  modified  the  old  attitude  were  not  to  come 
into  force  until  the  other  Powers  had  signed 
identical  instruments  made  it  a dead  letter.  All 
through  the  ’eighties  Japan  made  vain  efforts  to 
induce  the  other  Powers  to  follow,  and  improve  on, 
the  example  set  by  the  United  States.  Conferences 
were  held  in  Tokyo;  voluminous  memoranda  were 
exchanged;  acrid  discussions  followed;  but  no  pro- 
gress was  made. 

In  1889  after  lengthy  discussions  in  Berlin,  a 
treaty  was  actually  signed  by  Germany  and  Japan 
in  which  the  former  undertook  to  agree  to  the 
abolition  of  her  consular  jurisdiction,  and  to  re- 
cognise the  complete  legal  sovereignty  of  Japan, 
on  the  condition  that  a number  of  foreign  jurists 
should  be  attached  to  the  Japanese  Court  of  Appeal. 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


439 


Count  Okuma,  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  at 
Tokyo,  was,  however,  soon  shown  the  opinion  of 
the  nation  as  to  this  arrangement.  An  assassin 
attacked  and  severely  wounded  him,  and  in  the  face 
of  the  growing  storm  the  Japanese  Government  had 
no  other  course  open  but  to  defer  the  operation  of 
the  obnoxious  treaty. 

It  was  some  years  before  anything  else  definite 
was  attempted,  but  in  1894  it  became  clear  that  the 
limit  of  Japanese  patience  was  being  reached  and 
that  something  would  have  to  be  done.  Great 
Britain  now  took  the  lead,  and  in  March,  1894, 
negotiations  were  begun  between  Lord  Kimberley 
and  Viscount  Aoki,  in  London,  which  resulted  in 
the  signature  on  the  i6th  July  of  the  same  year  of 
a treaty  of  Commerce  and  Navigation.  In  this 
instrument  everything  Japan  demanded  was  granted 
her ; and  whilst  her  war  with  China  was  briskly 
proceeding,  her  men  of  peace  could  reflect  with 
satisfaction  that  they  had  gained  a more  important 
victory  than  any  that  her  soldiery  could  give  her. 
The  rest  of  the  treaty  Powers  quickly  followed  the 
example  set  by  England,  and  before  the  close  of  the 
nineteenth  century  Japan  had  shaken  off  the  last 
traces  of  a system  which  had  become  more  and 
more  galling,  and  which,  had  it  not  been  re- 
moved, would  have  certainly  led  to  unfortunate 
results. 

The  war  with  China  ended,  and  the  Japanese 
Government,  after  careful  reflection,  became  so 
enamoured  with  the  idea  of  creating  a buffer 


440 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CH.\P. 


territory  between  Korea  and  China,  which  would 
render  it  impossible  for  the  Peking  Government 
ever  to  interfere  again  in  the  vassal  state,  that  in 
addition  to  the  cession  of  Formosa  the  entire 
Liaotung  peninsula  was  demanded.  China,  now 
helpless  to  resist  any  demands,  gave  a reluctant 
consent,  and  Japan  had  thus  made  her  first  great 
false  step.  The  well-known  intervention  now  took 
place  with  a rapidity  which  showed  that  Europe 
had  been  kept  closely  informed  of  what  was  going 
on,  and,  once  more  confronted  by  the  armed  forces 
of  allied  Christendom,  Japan  had  to  retreat  uncondi- 
tionally and  retrocede  the  territor}^  which  had  just 
been  ceded  her. 

If  the  Tokyo  Government,  masking  its  real  feel- 
ings beneath  an  imperturbable  exterior,  continued  to 
smile  politely  after  its  wont  and  to  forget  for  the 
time  being  the  terrible  blow  that  its  pride  had 
received,  the  nation  at  large  felt  no  such  restraint, 
and  once  more  the  cauldron  of  angry  passions  was 
nearly  boiling  over.  The  British  treaty,  removing 
one  of  the  great  drawbacks  to  European  inter- 
course, had  given  rise  to  the  highest  hopes ; now 
Europe  showed  that  at  heart  she  merely  tolerated 
Japan,  and  that  once  beyond  her  own  gates  Japan 
would  still  be  whipped  back  like  some  trespassing 
boy,  whenever  it  suited  the  school-masters  of  the 
Continent  to  take  out  their  birches.  It  was  a 
terrible  discovery  and  one  which  oppressed,  and 
still  continues  to  oppress  to  an  extraordinary  extent, 
a proud  and  sensitive  people.  Wdien  the  interv^ention 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


441 


took  place  the  Japanese  Government  had  looked  to 
England,  but  the  British  Government  had  turned  a 
cold  shoulder.  So  gloomy  to  excited  imaginations 
did  the  whole  outlook  then  appear  that  it  was  no 
wonder  that  all  the  Western  world  seemed  in 
conspiracy  against  a little  corner  of  the  East. 
Japan  was  passing  through  the  fire  to  prove  her 
metal. 

No  sooner  had  a few  months  passed  away  than  it 
became  amply  clear  that  the  intervention  had  taken 
place,  not  only  to  push  back  Japan  but  also  to  rob 
her  of  having  any  hand  in  Korea,  if  possible.  As 
far  as  Japan  was  concerned,  six  months  after  the 
intervention  the  triplicate  had  been  reduced  to  one 
Power  — Russia ; and  in  Korea,  in  Manchuria,  and 
at  Peking,  it  was  always  Russia  which,  huge  and 
spectre-like,  menaced  Japan. 

A year  after  the  intervention,  Russia  was  more 
powerful  in  Korea  than  China  had  ever  been;  half 
a year  later  again  all  the  world  knew  from  the 
Cassini  Convention  that  Russia  aspired  to  all 
Manchuria  and  to  some  of  North  China ; and 
eighteen  months  after  this  the  cession  of  the  heel  of 
the  Liaotung  to  Czardom  confirmed  the  worst 
Japanese  fears.  Henceforth  the  word  Port  Arthur 
became  a stinging  reproach,  and  the  Russian  advance 
a direct  challenge  to  Japanese  patience.  That  this 
Russian  phantom  was  a new  thing  was,  of  course, 
not  true,  for  from  the  days  of  Perry  the  Northern 
Colossus  had  been  making  daring  efforts  not  only  to 
reach  the  ice-free  Eastern  waters  but  to  seize 


442 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


strategic  points  which  gave  a direct  outlet  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  not  merely  to  the  Seas  of  China 
and  Japan  . Thus,  in  the  ’fifties,  Saghalien  had  been 
gradually  colonised,  and  the  Japanese,  who  were 
coming  up  from  the  south,  pushed  back  to  their  own 
islands.  In  1857  a determined  effort  had  been  made 
to  seize  the  big  island  of  Tsushima,  which  commands 
the  principal  entrance  to  the  Sea  of  Japan.  In  1864 
the  Government  of  the  Bakafu  (Shogun)  had  been 
forced  to  send  a special  envoy  to  St.  Petersburg, 
and  a joint  occupation  of  the  disputed  island  was 
almost  agreed  to.  In  1869  trouble  with  Russia 
again  arose,  and,  this  time  acting  from  Saghalien, 
Russia  massed  men  with  the  object  of  seizing  the 
northernmost  island  of  Japan,  Hokhaido.  Only 
in  1875  was  the  Russian  bogey  temporarily  laid 
when  Japan  accepted  the  eighteen  islands  which 
form  the  Kurile  group  in  return  for  a full  recognition 
of  the  Russian  claim  to  the  whole  of  Saghalien. 

Thus,  twenty  years  after  the  Saghalien  Conven- 
tion, and  only  twelve  months  after  England’s  full 
recognition  of  Japanese  sovereignty,  Japan  found 
that  Russia  was  just  as  determined  as  ever  to  reduce 
her  to  a position  of  secondary  importance  in  spite  of 
her  magnificent  geographical  position,  and  that  in 
furthering  this  plan  Russia  could  now  rely  on  other 
European  Powers  to  help  her.  This  kindled  anew 
the  fires  which  were  smouldering  out.  Once  more 
Japan  was  placed  on  a strict  and  exhausting  defen- 
sive, and  girding  her  loins  realised  that  the  death- 
struggle  had  to  be  faced  — when  or  how,  she  dare  not 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


443 


think  — in  order  once  arid  for  all  to  vindicate  her 
position  and  inspire  a respect  which  not  all  her  law- 
making, her  schooling,  and  her  wholesome  adoption 
of  Western  methods  had  been  able  to  gain  for  her. 
War  and  torrents  of  blood  gushing  from  the  sides 
of  stricken  thousands  were  after  all  the  only  things 
which  convinced  nations.  Therefore  there  must 
be  war. 

It  was  not  long  before  this  idea  had  filtered 
through  the  whole  population  of  Japan;  and  under 
such  circumstances  it  was  not  unnatural  that  Japanese 
judges,  now  possessing  jurisdiction  over  all  foreigners, 
should  not  preserve  that  calm  judicial  spirit  which 
is  sacred  to  courts  of  law.  Thus  it  was  found  that 
the  European,  no  matter  what  his  nationality,  did 
not  receive  equitable  treatment  whenever  the  plaintiff 
or  defendant  was  Japanese.  It  is  unimportant  to 
state  how  often  this  was  the  case,  but  that  it  did 
occur  with  great  frequency  is  a fact  which  cannot  be 
denied.  As  a natural  corollary,  all  Europeans  in 
Japan  were  soon  exclaiming  that  their  interests  had 
been  sacrificed,  and  that  although  the  Japanese 
Government  might  be  perfectly  honest,  it  was  unable 
to  perform  its  dual  office  — to  conciliate  the  people 
and  uphold  their  ideas,  and  yet  maintain  foreign 
relations  and  the  treatment  of  foreigners  on  the  same 
footing  as  in  European  States.  Like  all  general 
statements,  there  was  much  exaggeration  in  this,  but 
there  was  unhappily  more  than  a grain  of  truth. 
Japanese  Courts  were  prejudiced  in  the  first  instance 
— of  this  there  has  never  been  any  doubt  — and 


444 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


Japanese  judges,  receiving  but  ridiculously  inadequate 
salaries,  were  not  above  suspicion,  as  they  should 
have  been. 

To  the  legal  difficulty  was  now  added  anothei 
one,  caused  by  the  determined  efforts  which  Japanese 
merchants  began  to  make  in  order  to  seize  hold  of 
the  direct  trade  with  foreign  countries,  and  them- 
selves buy  and  sell  without  the  help  of  the  European 
merchant  middleman  resident  at  the  old  treaty  ports. 
This  competition  soon  threatened  the  old-time 
position  of  merchant  houses;  and  when  it  is  added 
that  the  Japanese  contract-laws  were  soon  found  to 
be  most  unsatisfactory  and  to  shield  defaulting 
Japanese  dealers  under  the  most  specious  pleas,  it 
will  be  easily  understood  that  the  great  bulk  of 
Europeans  in  Japan  became  impregnated  with  the 
idea  that  the  Japanese  were  at  heart  an  anti-foreign 
nation  and  that  East  is  East  and  West  is  West. 
This  idea  was  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  all 
European  instructors  and  professors  who  could  be 
dispensed  with  were  now  soon  relieved  of  their 
duties  and  Japanese  installed  in  their  places.  The 
outspoken  vernacular  press,  dealing  perhaps  too 
petulantly  with  many  questions  of  the  day,  was  also 
held  to  be  strongly  anti-foreign ; schoolboys  and 
university  undergraduates  sang  songs  which  reflected 
the  feelings  of  the  hour,  and  in  this  rising  generation 
wiseacres,  filled  with  the  traditions  of  other  times, 
saw  nothing  but  a yellow  peril. 

The  storm  of  1900  in  China  overcast  everything 
else  in  the  Far  East,  and  threw  the  direct  considera- 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


445 


tion  of  Japan  and  Japanese  feeling  temporarily  into 
the  background.  The  Boxer  year,  1900,  although 
it  had  vastly  disturbed  Europe,  had  not  been  un- 
pleasant to  Japan.  A division  of  Japanese  soldiery 
had  marched  and  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder  with 
the  flower  of  the  world  — Europe  — and  had  earned 
nothing  but  the  most  extravagant  praise.  The 
Press  of  all  countries  had  echoed  with  stories  of  the 
admirable  conduct  of  the  Japanese  troops  under  all 
conditions;  and  their  bravery,  their  sobriety,  their 
manliness,  and  their  discipline  had  been  fruitful 
themes  from  Madrid  to  St.  Petersburg.  And  as  the 
army,  like  the  army  of  France, , was  the  nation’s 
darling,  which  had  a task  to  accomplish,  all  Japan, 
knocking  out  their  little  pipes  into  the  hihachi  and 
quietly  reading  the  newspapers  (which  reach  no  less 
than  fifteen  million  readers)  soon  learnt  what  Europe 
really  felt  about  this  matter.  This  was  so  much 
salve  to  the  national  wound  and  everyone  was  more 
contented.  It  is  true  that  Russia  had  now  invaded 
Manchuria ; but  people  were  speaking  well  of  Japan, 
and  as  Japan  formed  part  of  a so-called  international 
concert  in  China,  it  was  well  to  be  patient  for  the 
time  being.  It  was  at  this  time  that  a number  of 
Japanese  naval  officers  directly  advocated  attacking 
Russia  before  the  Manchurian  railway  was  completed, 
but  the  Japanese  Government,  assured  from  all 
quarters  that  the  Russian  question  could  be  arranged 
after  China  had  been  dealt  with,  refused  to  act  before 
the  time  was  ripe. 

Wffien  the  agitation  demanding  the  Russian  retreat 


446 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


from  Manchuria  was  at  its  height,  and  the  significant 
Anglo- Japanese  Alliance  had  been  signed,  it  seemed 
for  a time  as  if  the  Russian  Government  had  at  last 
accepted  the  situation,  having  signed  an  evacuation 
agreement  with  China.  Had  that  agreement  been 
faithfully  carried  out,  Japan  would  have  solved  the 
Korean  question  peacefully  to  the  best  of  her  ability. 
But  the  agreement  was  not  carried  out,  and  to  the 
Manchurian  irritation  were  now  added  new  develop- 
ments in  Korea.  All  these  things  are  fully  dealt 
with  elsewhere  and  are  only  mentioned  to  show 
something  of  the  Japanese  train  of  thought. 

Then  in  1903  everything,  instead  of  being  rose- 
coloured,  became  suddenly  overcast.  It  is  worth 
noting  that  this  reaction  was  exactly  the  same  as  had 
occurred  after  the  satisfactory  year  of  1894,  when 
Japan  had  signed  her  first  treaty  of  emancipation 
with  England  and  shattered  on  land  and  sea  her  first 
modern  enemy.  The  feeling  of  1903  was  then  only 
a revival  of  the  feeling  of  1895 ; all  Japan  was 
filled  with  anger  and  distrust,  since  it  was  no  use 
trying  to  be  honourable  and  frank  when  the  bulk  of 
the  world  ignored  such  conduct.  It  was  best  after 
all  to  fight.  In  1903  it  was  patent  to  the  few  who 
knew  something  of  the  exact  situation  in  Manchuria, 
Korea,  and  Japan,  that  there  would  be  war  the 
following  spring. 

As  far  as  Japan  was  concerned,  the  re-discovery 
of  an  old  attitude  — the  attitude  of  defence  against 
the  outer  world  — was  responsible  for  a great  deal. 
Everyone  felt  oppressed  and  morose,  and  Europeans 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


447 


generally  were  again  in  some  danger  of  being 
regarded  by  the  bulk  of  the  populace  as  persons  who 
wished  to  compass  the  ruin  of  Eastern  peoples. 
The  Anglo- Japanese  Alliance  was  held  to  have 
simply  cleared  the  ring  in  order  to  allow  Japan  to 
fight  Russia  without  fear  of  a second  intervention. 
This,  of  course,  was  but  the  view  of  the  masses,  but 
the  masses  do  not  mince  words  and  their  points  of 
view  are  seldom  wrong  in  such  matters. 

The  war  came  in  due  course,  and  Japanese  pre- 
parations were  rewarded  with  signal  successes  on 
land  and  sea.  But  even  with  the  successes  came  a 
new  discovery  — that  the  war  was  bringing  to  light 
a number  of  barbaric  things  which  had  not  been 
generally  known  about  Japan.  In  other  words,  the 
Japanese  were  now  called  dangerous  fanatics,  and 
their  Allah-intoxicated  battalions,  leaping  forward 
with  fierce  cries  on  a sluggish  enemy,  appeared  only 
to  seek  Paradise  like  so  many  mad  dervishes.  The 
institution  of  seppuku,  popularly  known  as  hara-kiri, 
freely  indulged  in  by  men  who  would  not  surrender, 
and  occurring  in  such  cases  as  when  the  transports 
were  surprised  by  the  raiding  Vladivostockers, 
became  a theme  of  open  reproach.  Even  in  war, 
it  seemed,  invertebrate  Europe  found  that  the 
Japanese  were  undeserving  of  equal  consideration 
with  Western  peoples.  And  yet,  taking  this  one 
thing  as  an  example,  what  is  this  seppuku  — is  it 
merely  a barbarous  custom  or  can  it  be  justified? 
I am  fain  to  confess  that,  properly  practised,  it  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  a survival  from  times  when 


448 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


life  was  more  intense  and  more  earnest  than  it  is 
now,  and  that,  wrong  as  all  self-immolation  un- 
doubtedly is  in  theory,  there  are  cases  where  practice 
may  differ.  A quotation  from  Mitford's  Tales  of  Old 
Japan  will  give  an  instance  of  what  this  hara-kiri 
really  is,  and  do  much  to  remove  certain  miscon- 
ceptions. Mitford  in  a rich  language  describes  a 
grim  scene  of  which  he  was  an  eye-witness : — 

We  (seven  foreign  representatives)  were  invited  to  fol- 
low the  Japanese  witnesses  into  the  hondo  or  main  hall 
of  the  temple,  where  the  ceremony  was  to  be  performed. 
It  was  an  imposing  scene.  A large  hall  with  a high  roof 
supported  by  dark  pillars  of  wood.  From  the  ceiling  hung 
a profusion  of  those  huge  gilt  lamps  and  ornaments 
peculiar  to  Buddhist  temples.  In  front  of  the  high  altar, 
where  the  floor,  covered  with  beautiful  white  mats,  is 
raised  some  three  or  four  inches  from  the  ground,  was  laid 
a rug  of  scarlet  felt.  Tall  candles  placed  at  regular  inter- 
vals gave  out  a dim  mysterious  light,  just  sufficient  to  let 
all  the  proceedings  be  seen.  The  seven  Japanese  took  their 
places  on  the  left  of  the  raised  floor,  the  seven  foreigners  on 
the  right.  No  other  person  was  present. 

After  the  interval  of  a few  minutes  of  anxious  suspense, 
Taki  Zenzabure,  a stalwart  man  thirty-two  years  of  age, 
with  a noble  air  walked  into  the  hall,  attired  in  his  dress 
of  ceremony,  with  the  peculiar  hempen-cloth  wings  which 
are  worn  on  great  occasions.  He  was  accompanied  by  a 
kaishaku  and  three  officers,  who  wear  the  imhaori  or  war 
surcoat  with  gold  tissue  facings.  The  word  kaishaku ^ it 
should  be  observed,  is  one  to  which  our  word  executioner 
is  an  equivalent  term.  The  office  is  that  of  a gentleman: 
in  many  cases  it  is  performed  by  a kinsman  or  friend  of 
the  condemned,  and  the  relation  between  them  is  rather 
that  of  principal  and  second  than  of  victim  and  execu- 
tioner. In  this  instance  the  kaishaku  was  a pupil  of  Taki 


XVUI 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


449 


Zenzabure,  and  was  selected  by  the  friends  of  the  latter 
from  amongst  their  own  number  for  his  skill  in  swords- 
manship. 

With  the  kaishaku  on  his  left  hand,  Taki  Zenzabure 
advanced  slowly  towards  the  Japanese  witnesses  and  the 
two  bowed  before  them,  then  drawing  near  the  foreigners 
they  saluted  us  in  the  same  way,  perhaps  even  with  more 
deference;  in  each  case  the  salutation  was  ceremoniously 
returned.  Slowly  and  with  great  dignity  the  condemned 
man  mounted  on  to  the  raised  floor,  prostrated  himself 
before  the  high  altar  twice,  and  seated  himself  in  the 
Japanese  fashion  on  the  felt  carpet  with  his  back  to  the 
high  altar,  the  kaishaku  crouching  on  his  left-hand  side. 
One  of  the  three  attendant  officers  then  came  forward, 
bearing  a stand  of  the  kind  used  in  the  temple  for  offer- 
ings, on  which,  wrapped  in  paper,  lay  the  wakiszashi,  the 
short  sword  or  dirk  of  the  Japanese,  nine  and  a half  inches 
in  length,  with  a point  and  an  edge  as  sharp  as  a razor’s. 
This  he  handed,  prostrating  himself,  to  the  condemned 
man,  who  received  it  reverently,  raising  it  to  his  head  with 
both  hands,  and  placed  it  in  front  of  himself. 

After  another  profound  obeisance,  Taki  Zenzabure,  in  a 
voice  which  betrayed  just  as  much  emotion  and  hesitation 
as  might  be  expected  from  a man  who  is  making  a painful 
confession,  but  with  no  other  sign  in  his  face  or  manner, 
spoke  as  follows:  — “I,  and  I alone,  unwarrantably  gave 
the  order  to  fire  on  the  foreigners  at  Kobe,  and  again  as 
they  tried  to  escape.  For  this  crime  I disembowel  myself, 
and  I beg  you  who  are  present  to  do  me  the  honour  of 
witnessing  the  act.” 

Bowing  once  more,  the  speaker  allowed  his  upper 
garments  to  slip  down  to  his  girdle,  and  remained  naked 
to  the  waist.  Carefully,  according  to  custom,  he  tucked 
his  sleeves  under  his  knees  to  prevent  himself  from  falling 
backwards;  for  a noble  Japanese  gentleman  should  die 
falling  forwards.  Deliberately  with  a steady  hand  he  took 
the  dirk  that  lay  before  him;  he  looked  at  it  wistfully. 


VOL.  I — 2G 


450 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


almost  affectionately;  for  a moment  he  seemed  to  collect 
his  thoughts  for  the  last  time,  and  then  stabbing  himself 
deeply  below  the  waist  in  the  left-hand  side,  he  drew  the 
dirk  slowly  across  to  his  right  side,  and,  turning  it  in  the 
wound,  gave  a slight  cut  upwards.  During  this  sicken- 
ingly  painful  operation  he  never  moved  a muscle  of  his 
face.  When  he  drew  out  the  dirk,  he  leaned  forward  and 
stretched  out  his  neck;  an  expression  of  pain  for  the  first 
time  crossed  his  face,  but  he  uttered  no  sound.  At  this 
moment  the  kaishaku,  who,  still  crouching  at  his  side,  had 
been  keenly  watching  his  every  movement,  sprang  to  his 
feet,  poised  his  sword  for  a moment  in  the  air ; there  was 
a flash,  a heavy,  ugly  thud,  a crashing  fall ; with  one  blow 
the  head  had  been  severed  from  the  body. 

A dead  silence  followed,  broken  only  by  the  hideous 
noise  of  the  blood  throbbing  out  of  the  inert  head  before 
us,  which  but  a moment  before  had  been  a brave  and 
chivalrous  man.  It  was  horrible. 

The  kaishaku  made  a low  bow,  wiped  his  sword  with  a 
piece  of  paper,  which  he  had  ready  for  the  purpose,  and 
retired  from  the  raised  floor;  and  the  stained  dirk  was 
solemnly  borne  away,  a bloody  proof  of  the  execution. 

The  two  representatives  of  the  Mikado  then  left  their 
places,  and  crossing  over  to  where  the  foreign  witnesses 
sat,  called  on  us  to  witness  that  the  sentence  of  death  upon 
Taki  Zenzabure  had  been  faithfully  carried  out.  The 
ceremony  being  at  an  end  we  gloomily  left  the  temple. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a case  in  which  hara-kiri  was 
practised  according  to  custom.  The  terrible  scene 
which  Mitford  so  eloquently  describes  was  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  an  execution,  an  execution  carried 
out  after  the  manner  which  every  samurai  might 
demand  as  his  right.  In  Eastern  countries  to  die 
by  one’s  own  hand  is  not  degrading;  to  die  by  the 
hand  of  the  common  executioner  has  been  in  the 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


451 


past  a fate  solely  reserved  for  low-born  malefactors. 
Even  to-day  the  silken  cord  is  sent  by  the  Emperor 
of  China  to  high  officials  who  have  merited  the  death 
sentence,  so  that  they  may  strangle  themselves 
without  public  disgrace.  From  seppuku  practised 
according  to  custom,  to  soldiers  shooting  themselves 
sooner  than  surrender,  is  a big  step;  but,  here  again, 
it  is  important  to  follow  out  the  line  of  reasoning 
which  induces  such  acts,  and  to  note  in  passing  that 
it  is  a thousand  pities  that  European  soldiers  do  not 
embrace  death  sooner  than  surrender.  After  all, 

one  fights  to  kill  others  or  to  die  one’s  self. 

Every  Japanese  who  has  left  his  country  in  this 
war  has  done  so  with  the  idea  of  dying  for  his 
country.  That  he  wishes  to  die  and  leave  this 

world  is  not  true;  but  that  he  recognises  that  only 
by  an  immense  number  of  his  kind  freely  sacrificing 
themselves  can  a certain  victory  against  Russia  be 

won,  is  beyond  contradiction.  Hence,  when  ill- 

fortune  places  soldiers  in  a position  from  which  there 
is  no  honourable  escape,  they  fight  as  long  as 
possible  and  then  turn  their  rifles  or  their  bayonets 
on  themselves.  Bushido  demands  that  they  should 
not  bring  disgrace  to  their  country  by  tamely  allow- 
ing the  enemy  to  capture  them  and  gain  confidence 
by  so  doing.  Death  is  therefore  preferable.  But  in 
spite  of  this,  the  number  of  Japanese  soldiery  who 
have  committed  hara-kiri  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war  has  been  greatly  exaggerated,  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  actual  number  runs  into  more  than  a 
couple  of  hundred.  Undoubtedly  a heavy  percentage 


452 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


of  the  men  surprised  on  board  the  transports  refused 
to  surrender,  but  there  is  no  record  of  how  many 
were  simply  drowned  and  how  many  deliberately 
committed  suicide.  Excited  correspondents  who 
have  lately  discovered  the  existence  of  the  East  are 
mainly  responsible  for  the  sensational  stories  which 
tell  of  hundreds  ripping  their  abdomens  open.  But 
even  here  the  matter  does  not  end,  for  the  Tokyo 
War  Department  has  now  taken  certain  steps  which 
make  it  probable  that  not  a single  case  of  hara-kiri 
will  be  heard  of  again.  But  even  the  Japanese 
Government,  strong  and  commanding  as  it  un- 
doubtedly is,  cannot  do  certain  things — for  instance, 
tell  the  people,  whose  indomitable  spirit  is  the  true 
and  only  cause  for  Japanese  victories,  that  what  has 
been  believed  in  for  many  centuries  is  now  unneces- 
sary. The  Government  can  merely  point  out  that 
the  situation  no  longer  demands  a useless  sacrifice 
of  life,  and  that  more  calmness  is  necessary  in  supreme 
moments. 

The  various  matters  which  have  now  been  hastily 
dealt  with  in  the  preceding  pages  are  some  of  the 
principal  points  calling  for  comment,  although,  of 
course,  there  are  many  other  minor  ones,  and  a 
perusal  does  something  to  explain  the  friction  and 
misunderstanding  which  have  been  continuous  be- 
tween Japanese  and  some  classes  of  Europeans 
during  the  past  forty  years.  Oppressed  by  the  idea 
that  they  were  considered  an  inferior  and  barbarous 
people  by  the  purse-proud  Westerner,  the  Japanese 
people  have  chafed  for  many  decades,  and  only 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


453 


occasionally  resorted  to  violent  means,  of  which  the 
execution  detailed  by  Mitford  is  a sequel.  Given 
complete  legal  sovereignty  by  the  revised  treaties, 
Japan  found  to  her  chagrin  that  she  was  still  only 
tolerated  by  Europe  at  large.  In  1898  she  saw  the 
three  Powers  repaying  themselves  for  their  trouble 
in  1895  by  slicing  off  pieces  of  Chinese  territory, 
some  of  which  they  had  actually  prevented  Japan 
from  obtaining  on  the  ground  that  it  would  disturb 
the  peace  of  the  East.  From  1900  to  the  outbreak 
of  the  present  war  Japan  further  saw  Russia  openly 
seeking  to  obtain  control  in  both  Manchuria  and 
Korea;  and  thus  it  may  be  said  that  from  the  day 
Commodore  Perry  arrived  in  Tokyo  Bay  in  1854 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  present  war  in  1904  there 
has  not  been  a single  year  of  real  repose  for 
Japanese  feelings,  and  that  as  soon  as  one  disability 
has  been  removed,  another  has  been  imposed.  This 
alone  is  sufficient  to  account  for  a very  great  deal. 

In  the  matters  of  commerce  and  the  administra- 
tion of  justice  alone  the  Westerner  may  claim  that 
Japan  is  only  now  beginning  to  realise  the  new 
responsibilities  which  have  been  thrust  upon  her. 
Broken  commercial  contracts  and  miscarriages  of 
justice  have  been  too  frequent  not  to  make  it 
advisable  that  after  the  war  the  Government  should 
set  to  work  to  thrash  out  thoroughly  these  two 
questions.  Until  a Japanese  contract  has  the  same 
value  as  any  contract  all  the  world  over,  people  will 
continue  to  say  the  same  unkind  things  about  the 
Japanese  merchant.  And  until  the  surfeit  of  laws 


454 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CHAP. 


and  regulations  which  Japan  now  possesses  has  been 
properly  codified  and  simplified,  and  at  least  one-half 
thrown  away  as  useless  impedimenta,  the  same 
accusations  will  be  levelled,  and  the  European  who 
is  hit  in  the  pocket  will  go  abroad  and  poison  people 
against  Japan.  It  would  be  well  if  a Japanese 
Imperial  Commission  inquired  into  and  remedied  all 
these  things. 

But  already  there  are  indications  that  it  is  reason- 
able to  hope  for  better  times  in  these  two  matters. 
Each  year  sees  fewer  and  fewer  causes  for  com- 
plaint; and  every  month  sees  Japanese,  of  a class 
who  even  ten  years  ago  despised  touching  com- 
mercial enterprises,  embarking  on  new  ventures  and 
personally  conducting  them.  The  guilds  and  as- 
sociations of  Japanese  merchants  are  also  doing 
much  to  raise  the  whole  tone  of  commercial 
morality;  but  until  the  system  of  boycott,  which  is 
willingly  adopted  against  Europeans  who  invoke 
the  help  of  the  Courts,  is  done  away  with,  guilds 
cannot  occupy  the  position  which  should  be  theirs. 
Finally,  the  position  of  Japanese  judges  is  being 
improved. 

Taking  it  that  it  is  Japan’s  object  to  bridge  the 
gulf  between  East  and  West,  it  may  be  said  that 
perhaps  one-twentieth  of  the  work  has  already  been 
completed,  and  that  the  end  of  this  century  may  find 
one-half  of  the  bridge  work  complete  — a result  which 
will  be  extraordinary.  But  it  is  only  those  to  whom 
the  East  is  really  East  and  the  West  really  West 
who  can  understand  the  stupendous  nature  of  the 


XVIII 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


455 


task  Japan  now  has  in  hand.  For  just  as  there 
are  seemingly  unalterable  gulfs  in  the  matter  of 
colour,  so  are  there  gulfs  in  the  matter  of  mind,  due 
almost  entirely  to  climatic  reasons  and  environment, 
which  cannot  be  easily  changed.  To  step  from  the 
East  to  the  West  is  to  step  from  the  ground  on  to  a 
fast-moving  train.  There  is  a sharp  shock;  a curious 
sinking  away  of  all  those  things  which  have  been 
necessary  for  one’s  guidance;  a confusion  which 
only  clears  by  abandoning  well-known  landmarks 
for  new  ones  which  flick  past  one  rapidly  instead  of 
slowly,  and  calmly  looming  up  and  disappearing  so 
gradually  that  there  is  no  shock.  To  many  it  already 
appears  in  Japan  that  Kipling’s  dictum  is  absurd. 
It  is,  however,  not  only  not  absurd,  but  absolutely 
true  wherever  climate  has  put  its  curious  dividing 
line;  and  those  Japanese  who  have  saturated  them- 
selves with  Western  thought  and  learning,  and  almost 
lost  the  East,  and  have  then  returned  to  their  native 
land,  will  understand  the  meaning  of  what  has  been 
written.  There  are  some  things  which  are  difficult 
and  impolitic  to  express  in  writing.  For  it  is  by 
turning  to  the  Japanese  women,  too  often  described 
as  mere  dolls,  that  this  side  of  the  question  is  seen, 
and  something  of  the  remarkable  clinging  effect  of 
the  East  as  opposed  to  the  West  is  witnessed. 
Struggle  as  they  will,  European  after  European  has 
shown  this  by  being  dominated  and  subdued  by  the 
East.  In  such  matters  is  something  of  many  curious 
things  to  be  studied,  and  the  case  of  Lafcadio  Hearn 
offers  food  for  much  philosophic  reffection.  All  these 


456 


MISUNDERSTANDINGS 


CH.  xvin 


curious  points,  which  cannot  be  more  than  hinted  at, 
are  responsible  for  not  a few  misrepresentations  and 
misunderstandings,  and  will  continue  to  be  responsible 
for  some  time  to  come. 

But  just  as  it  is  unhealthy  for  the  mind  to  wander 
too  much  in  metaphysical  researches,  so  is  it  unwise 
to  deal  too  much  with  this  side.  The  attitude  of 
the  Japanese  Government  is  here  the  correct  one;  it 
has  adopted  the  broad  principles  of  the  West,  is 
irrevocably  committed  to  them,  and  is  absolutely 
honest.  As  for  the  rest,  time  and  development 
must  do  as  much  of  the  heavy  work  of  re-creating  as 
they  can.  Money  is  now  being  lavished  on  schools 
and  all  forms  of  education : telephones  and  tele- 

graphs, steamers  and  railways,  docks  and  factories 
are  everywhere  in  Japan  representing  all  the  out- 
ward and  visible  signs  which  a painstaking  ingenuity 
can  think  of.  But  still  the  women  in  their  graceful 
clothing  stand  syren-like  and  vvave  the  men  back. 
The  women  count  much  in  every  country’s  develop- 
ment or  decay,  and  until  now  the  West,  in  spite  of 
all  legislation  and  education,  has  left  untouched  the 
women  of  Japan,  whose  influence  is  very  great. 


A Japanese  Garden. 


. CHAPTER  XIX 

ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 

The  general  remarks  on  Japan  which  have  pre- 
ceded will  have  prepared  the  ground  to  some  extent 
for  an  examination  of  the  special  question  of  British 
and  Japanese  relations.  It  is  a question  which 
cannot  be  lightly  considered,  since  it  is  already 
regarded  with  grave  concern  by  those  who  under- 
stand the  extremely  complex  situation  to-day  existing 
in  the  Far  East  — a situation  which  contains  every 
possibility  and  impossibility  that  human  beings  can 
think  of,  and  which  will  present  many  new  features 
as  soon  as  the  war  comes  to  an  end.  On  the 
actual  value  of  the  relations  which  then  exist 
between  England  and  Japan,  much  in  Asia  will 
depend;  and  as  the  subject  is  a lengthy  one,  only 
certain  features  of  it  can  be  rapidly  considered. 

Americans  are  sometimes  apt  to  suppose  that, 
because  Commodore  Perry  with  his  frigates  and 
brigs  induced  Japan  to  emerge  from  a seclusion 
which  had  lasted  for  centuries,  it  was  the  United 
States  which  opened  up  the  country  and  developed 
the  trade  and  resources  of  the  Island  Empire  in  the 

. 457 


458 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


’fifties,  ’sixties,  and  ’seventies  of  the  last  century. 
Nothing  could  be  more  incorrect. 

Previous  to  the  coming  of  Perry,  England  had 
made  a number  of  unsuccessful  attempts  to  enter 
into  direct  negotiations  with  the  Shogun’s  Govern- 
ment; but  as  the  opening  of  China  was  then  being 
forced  almost  entirely  by  England,  it  was  impossible 
for  her  at  that  time  to  bestow  sufficient  attention  on 
Japan.  And,  as  Commodore  Perry  made  Hong- 
kong his  base,  it  must  be  assumed  that  a close 
understanding  then  existed  between  the  two  Anglo- 
Saxon  Powers.  Just  as  it  was  from  the  coasts  of 
China  that  the  United  States  ships  made  their  way 
to  Japan,  so  it  was  from  these  coasts  that  British 
officials  and  British  merchants  steamed  east  im- 
mediately after  the  first  Japanese  treaties  had  been 
signed,  and  established  themselves  at  the  Japanese 
ports.  Lord  Elgin,  Admiral  Sir  James  Sterling,  Sir 
Rutherford  Alcock,  Sir  Harry  Parkes,  — these  are  a 
few  of  those  who,  having  been  first  associated  with 
China,  went  subsequently  to  Japan  during  the  ’fifties 
and  ’sixties  to  place  matters  there  on  the  same 
footing  as  in  the  Celestial  Empire.  And  behind 
these  British  officials  came  British  merchants  and 
small  traders  in  some  numbers,  who  monopolised 
the  Japan  trade  and  made  English  the  lingua  franca 
of  the  open  ports. 

The  consideration  of  China  and  Japan,  from  the 
British  official  and  merchant  point  of  view,  as 
countries  falling  into  the  same  class  and  demanding 
the  same  treatment  was  therefore  not  unnatural. 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


459 


Coming  from  China,  Englishmen  were  brought  into 
contact  with  a people  far  inferior  in  commerce  to 
those  they  had  just  been  dealing  with,  and,  whatever 
other  qualities  the  Japanese  possessed,  the  popula- 
tion was  rated  for  the  time  being  as  an  inferior  one. 
Thus  men  of  the  stamp  of  Sir  Harry  Parkes  held 
that  it  was  a misconception  on  the  part  of  the 
Japanese  to  consider  extra- territoriality  per  se  as  a 
derogation  from  national  sovereignty,  and  to  chafe 
under  the  bonds  of  this  peculiar  system.  Parkes 
was  pleased  to  point  out  constantly  that  throughout 
the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe,  different  degrees  of 
extra-territoriality  had  been  the  rule  rather  than  the 
exception.  He  argued  that  the  Jews  had  been 

more  or  less  under  their  own  jurisdiction;  that  the 
clergy  were  almost  entirely  independent  of  territorial 
laws;  that  the  Hanse  and  other  towns  had  their 

special  privileges ; and,  thus  continuing  in  this 
strain,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  Englishmen  who 
has  ever  come  to  the  Far  East  remained  a firm  up- 
holder of  extra- territoriality  to  the  end. 

Not  until  Japan  succeeded  in  inducing  the  popular 
imagination  to  detach  her  from  direct  association 

with  China,  and  until  British  Ministers  Plenipo- 
tentiary uncontaminated  by  the  China  point  of 
view  began  to  be  appointed  to  Japan,  did  English 
official  opinion  realise  that  other  times  demanded 

other  customs.  By  the  end  of  the  ’eighties  it  was 
understood  that  the  old  method  of  treating  Japan 
was  dangerous;  and  viewed  in  its  proper  light,  the 
treaty  of  commerce  and  navigation,  to  which  refer- 


460 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


ence  has  already  been  made,  which  was  finally 
concluded  between  England  and  Japan  in  1894, 
must  be  rated  as  fully  as  important  an  instrument 
as  the  Alliance  Treaty  of  1902.  It  is  curious  for 
students  to  note  that  the  time  between  these  two 
British  treaties  which  have  done  so  much  for 
Japanese  advancement  is  eight  years,  which  is 
approximately  the  same  period  as  elapsed  between 
those  other  two  attempts  to  arrest  Japan’s  progress 
— the  1895  intervention  and  the  1903-4  derogatory 
negotiations  which  ended  in  war. 

In  spite  of  the  fact,  therefore,  that  Admiral 
Sterling’s  fleet  was  only  the  second  to  negotiate  with 
Japan  half  a century  ago,  it  was  England  and  no 
other  country  which  eleven  years  ago  gave  the 
signal  authorising  Japan  to  take  her  proper  place  in 
the  comity  of  nations  — a signal  which  no  other 
Power  had  dared  to  give.  But  the  part  which 
England  played  in  1895  was  one  not  lost  on  Japan. 
Japan  had  turned  then  to  England,  and  expected, 
after  the  treaty  of  1894,  that  some  support  would  be 
given  against  the  triplicate  of  powers  which  menaced 
her  with  armed  strength  in  order  to  enforce  the 
return  of  the  Liaotung  to  China.  But  England 
remained  silent,  though  Japan  must  have  understood 
that  the  idea  of  applying  the  slicing  process  to 
China  was  distasteful  in  the  extreme  to  a Power 
which  but  a few  months  before  had  surrendered 
certain  privileges  because  Japan  was  intent  on 
adopting  everything  which  was  honourable  and 
sound. 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


461 


The  attitude  assumed  in  1895  could  be  under- 
stood, but  the  deplorable  weakness  of  Lord  Salis- 
bury’s Government  in  the  winter  of  1897-1898  — a 
weakness  of  which  the  present  colossal  struggle  is 
the  direct  result  — was  viewed  with  astonishment 
and  dismay  in  Japan,  and  probably  gave  the  first 
inkling  of  the  grand  new  discovery  which  is  now  at 
every  opportunity  impressed  on  foreign  Powers ; 
that  England’s  responsibilities  were  growing  too 
great  for  her,  and  that  she  could  no  longer  accom- 
plish alone  things  she  had  been  capable  of  before. 
To  the  Japanese  mind  it  seemed  incredible  that  a 
Power  which  was  truly  mistress  of  the  seas,  which 
had  opened  up  China  and  indeed  the  whole  of  the 
Far  East,  which  had  warned  Russia  away  from  the 
island  of  Tsushima  in  the  ’sixties,  which  had 
occupied  Port  Hamilton  in  1886  merely  because 
Russia  had  given  signs  of  a desire  to  annex  Korean 
territory,  which  had  prevented  Japan  from  coming 
near  the  treaty-ports  of  China  in  the  1894-1895  war, 
— in  a word,  a Power  which  controlled  the  situation 
entirely  — should  suddenly  discover  that  she  was  not 
prepared  to  do  anything  but  acquiesce  in  everything 
that  the  Continental  Powers  might  plan  in  China. 
It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  what  would  have 
happened  in  1898  if  England  had  insisted  on  China 
refusing  to  grant  the  leases  of  the  Port  Arthur, 
Kiaochow,  and  Kwangchouwan  territories,  for  it 
must  be  amply  clear  by  now  that  a collapse  as  sen- 
sational as  that  of  the  war  year  1904  would  have 
immediately  taken  place.  France  would  not  have 


402 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


gone  to  war  in  1898  to  help  Russia  and  Germany 
in  questionable  combination;  Russia  was  manifestly 
bluffing;  and  Germany,  who  was  actually  trespass- 
ing on  a quasi-Russian  enclave  would  never  have 
gone  to  any  great  lengths,  until  she  was  able  to 
convince  herself  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  feared 
from  British  battleships. 

The  territorial  leases  of  1898  were,  therefore,  proofs 
positive  to  Japan  that  England  would  not  go  to  war 
or  run  the  risk  of  going  to  war  over  the  Chinese 
question  excepting  as  a last  resource.  And,  further, 
the  history  of  these  leases  showed  that  England 
would  not  enter  into  serious  direct  negotiations  with 
the  great  Continental  Powers  on  Far  Eastern 
matters  for  fear  that  such  negotiations,  if  determined 
and  emphatic,  might  result  in  creating  a state  of 
affairs  from  which  there  would  be  no  honourable 
retreat  except  by  indulging  in  war-like  acts. 

The  transfer  of  the  harbour  and  adjoining  terri- 
tory of  Weihaiwei,  on  a lease  to  run  ‘Tor  so  long  a 
period  as  Port  Arthur  shall  remain  in  occupation  of 
Russia,’’  was  an  operation  in  which  Japan  was  not 

only  directly  interested,  but  which  was  actually 

prompted  by  her  and  which  appeared  to  her  the 

best  pis  oiler  to  be  found.  For  Weihaiwei  had 
been  the  last  spot  in  Chinese  territory  to  be 
evacuated  by  Japanese  troops  as  a sequel  to  the 

1894-1895  war  — an  evacuation  which  was  not  com- 
pleted until  the  final  instalment  of  the  Chinese 
war  indemnity  was  paid  over  to  the  Japanese 
representatives  in  London.  The  lease  of  Weihaiwei 


Drummers  and  Buglers  of  the  Weihaiwei  Regiment. 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


463 


to  England  was,  therefore,  an  Anglo- Japanese 
arrangement  managed  at  Peking  by  the  British  and 
Japanese  Legations,  and,  as  such,  a first  indication  of 
the  coming  Anglo- Japanese  rapprochement.  And  in 
this  connection  a curious  point  may  here  be  noted 
before  it  is  lost  sight  of.  The  stipulation  quoted 
above  — that  the  Weihaiwei  lease  should  continue  so 
long  as  Russia  remained  at  Port  Arthur  — proves 
clearly  that  Russia  alone  was  counted  an  enemy  in 
the  Far  East,  and  that  Germany’s  secret  scheming 
and  dangerous  activity  were  completely  misunder- 
stood at  the  time.  In  fact,  Germany  was  counted 
rather  as  a clever  friend  than  as  a cunning  enemy. 
Thus  we  find  such  an  acute  observer  as  Mr. 
Valentine  Chirol  convinced,  a few  months  after  the 
Chino- Japanese  war,  that  Germany,  having  been 
left  out  in  the  cold  by  Russia  and  France  in  the 
matter  of  Chinese  loans  after  the  intervention  of 
1895,  could  be  counted  on  as  a friendly  Power  — that 
is,  friendly  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  conception  of  the 
Far  East.  The  fact  that  the  unfortunate  under- 
standing still  existing  regarding  the  subscription  and 
flotation  of  Chinese  loans  by  English  and  German 
bankers  in  combination  had  then  just  been  entered 
into,  doubtless  misled  Mr.  Chirol;  he  little  dreamt 
that  the  German  policy  of  hunting  with  the  hounds 
and  running  with  the  hare  was  to  be  exposed  as  it 
has  been  during  the  past  seven  years.  It  must  be 
therefore  both  amusing  and  irritating  for  Japanese 
statesmen  to  reflect  at  the  present  moment  that  one- 
half  of  the  ;^i  6,000,000  sterling  Chinese  loan  of 


464 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


1898,  on  the  payment  of  which  Weihaiwei  was 
evacuated,  was  subscribed  by  Germany  as  a friend, 
though  by  that  time  Kiaochow  had  already  been 
occupied,  an  understanding  had  been  entered  into 
with  Russia,  and  an  anti- Japanese  policy  fully 
planned.  Had  Germany’s  role  in  the  Far  East  been 
better  understood,  the  Weihaiwei  leasing  agreement 
would  have  contained  the  same  reservation  regard- 
ing the  Kiaochow  lease  as  it  did  regarding  the  Port 
Arthur  one. 

The  European  world  had  not  yet  grasped  this 
wonderful  new  state  of  affairs,  created  by  the  ’98 
leases  in  China  and  by  the  American  annexation  of 
the  Philippines,  before  the  Boxer  outbreak  occurred. 
Europe,  previously  somewhat  dismayed  by  the 
spectre  of  a yellow  Asia  rising  against  the  white 
man,  and  now  confronted  by  a situation  which  it  in 
vain  attempted  to  gauge,  was  pleased  to  form  itself 
into  a curiously  unknown  quantity,  termed  an  Inter- 
national Concert,  and,  for  the  time  being,  rivalries 
were  nominally  forgotten. 

The  assassination  of  gallant  Baron  von  Ketteler, 
the  German  Minister  to  Peking,  in  1900  was  hardly 
a less  fortunate  occurrence  for  Germany  than  had 
been  the  murder  of  the  two  missionaries  in  Shan- 
tung in  1897.  The  Kaiser,  proudly  reviewing 
his  departing  troops,  made  fiery  speeches  which 
attracted  universal  attention,  and  followed  this  up 
by  appointing  Field-Marshal  Count  von  Waldersee, 
a pleasant  gentleman  of  somewhat  mature  years,  to 
a command  which  diplomacy  and  the  Concert  afore- 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


465 


said  managed  to  make  supreme.  And  not  content 
with  seeing  this,  the  short-sighted  Foreign  Office 
which  it  is  England’s  proud  privilege  to  possess, 
concluded  the  Anglo- German  Convention  of  1900 
so  as  to  round  off  the  various  understandings  which 
had  been  come  to  with  Berlin  regarding  the  Far 
East,  and  . to  .allow  England  to  retire  from  her 
position  of  paramountcy. 

Thus,  during  a time  when  the  general  situation 
was  in  the  making,  there  was  little  enough  heard  of 
England  and  Japan  for  the  simple  reason  that  the 
first  country  was  hoping  that  everyone  was  being 
pleased,  and  that  the  second  was  on  a silent  and 
amazed  defensive.  But  the  admirable  advice  of 
Clauwitz  that  no  defensive  is  perfect  without  offensive 
operations  was  completely  forgotten.  Japan,  how- 
ever, understood  that  the  embarrassment  caused  by 
the  protracted  South  African  struggle  was  enough 
to  account  for  England’s  weakness  and  effacement 
in  the  East;  and  it  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  to 
know  that  the  course  of  the  Boer  war  was  for  many 
reasons  watched  every  whit  as  closely  at  Tokyo  as 
it  was  in  London. 

By  the  year  1901  it  seemed  clear  to  Japanese 
statesmen  that  Lord  Kitchener  had  the  South 
African  situation  well  in  hand,  and  that  the  time 
had  arrived,  as  in  1894,  when  the  most  earnest 
representations  would  have  to  be  made  in  London 
regarding  the  future  of  the  Far  East.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  the  British  Government  was  slowly 
forced  into  the  Anglo- Japanese  agreement  by  the 

VOL.  I — 2 H 


466 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


frankness  of  the  Japanese  approaches,  which  made 
it  clear  that  if  England  persisted  in  acting  as  she 
had  done  during  the  previous  four  years,  there 
remained  nothing  for  the  Japanese  Government  but 
to  make  their  peace  on  the  best  terms  possible  with 
Russia.  It  was,  therefore,  nothing  more  than  a 
choice  of  an  Anglo- Japanese  Alliance  or  of  a Russo- 
Japanese  Alliance.  Fortunately  at  the  eleventh 
hour  the  British  Government  realised  that  the 
parting  of  the  ways  had  been  reached,  and  that 
there  w^as  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  throw  in  her  lot 
with  Japan  or  see  the  British  position  in  the  Far 
East  largely  destroyed.  It  is  curious  how  an 
eleventh  hour  has  almost  always  until  now  been  left 
for  the  British  Government  in  which  to  re-consider 
its  entire  position;  but  it  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  such  good  luck  will  always  continue. 

Meanwhile  1902  and  the  first'  part  of  1903  gave  a 
necessary  breathing-space  during  which  people  in 
Europe  might  have  realised  for  the  first  time  that 
the  world  was  dividing  into  two  rival  camps  in  the 
East.  Over  the  first  flew  the  flags  of  England, 
the  United  States,  and  Japan;  over  the  second  the 
standards  of  Continental  Christendom.  The  first 
camp  stood  for  Anglo-Saxon  ideals;  the  second  for 
the  old  policy;  there  could  be  no  question  of  which 
was  the  stronger  of  the  two.  Now,  safe  in  a well- 
secured  position,  Japan  pushed  to  the  fore  and 
demanded  a hearing.  Everyone  in  Japan  knew 
what  was  coming. 

The  actual  outbreak  of  the  great  war  in  1904 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


467 


provoked  grave  misgivings  even  in  England.  The 
position  in  the  Far  East  was  totally  misunderstood; 
Russian  strength  had  been  grossly  exaggerated  by 
writers  neither  competent  nor  willing  to  investigate 
a question  which  demanded  much  study  and  collec- 
tion of  data  and  a knowledge  of  things  which  very 
few  possess.  It  seemed  clear  that  Great  Russia 
would  rise  up  and  crush  valiant  little  Japan. 

The  first  fifteen  months  of  the  war  have  told  their 
own  story,  and  have  educated  everyone  more  than 
the  history  of  the  fifteen  preceding  years.  Everyone 
now  knows  something  of  the  Far  East  and  some- 
thing of  the  issues  at  stake;  and  now  the  supreme 
question  has  become,  What  should  and  must  be 
done  after  the  expiry  of  the  present  term  of  the 
Anglo- Japanese  Alliance  in  order  to  extract  the 
maximum  amount  of  good  from  the  war.  It  is  a 
question  which  at  the  present  moment  engages  the 
most  astute  intellects,  and  it  is  one  which  in  the 
deciding  will  give  birth  to  many  other  questions, 
impose  new  burdens,  and  necessitate  the  sweeping- 
away  of  shibboleths  which  have  done  duty  for  a tale 
of  years  without  number.  No  matter  what  is 
decided,  the  decision  will  be  one  which  will  affect 
the  position  of  every  one  of  the  important  Powers  of 
the  world  and  see  a re-shifting  of  forces  from 
Stamboul  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Three  things  can  be  done  regarding  the  Anglo- 
Japanese  Alliance  and  three  things  only.  Firstly,  it 
can  be  cancelled  after  the  present  term  of  five  years; 
secondly,  it  can  be  renewed  for  a like  or  longer 


468 


ENGL.\ND  AND  JAPAN 


CH-\P. 


period  on  the  same  terms;  and,  thirdly,  it  can  be 
renewed  with  its  provisions  much  extended  so  as  to 
make  it  the  most  binding  agreement  in  British 

Eastern  history.  A few  words  of  explanation  are 
necessary  regarding  certain  points  in  the  three 

possibilities.  Concerning  the  first.  Article  VI.  of 
the  existing  treaty  states  that  if  either  of  the  high 
contracting  parties  wishes  to  terminate  the  Alliance 
at  the  end  of  the  five  years’  period  — the  30th 
January,  1907  — the  treaty  must  be  denounced 

twelve  months  before  that  date,  i,e.  it  must  be 
denounced  in  January,  1906.  If  it  is  not  so 
denounced  it  must  remain  in  force  until  the  expira- 
tion of  one  year  from  the  day  on  which  either  of  the 
high  contracting  parties  should  have  notified  the 
intention  of  terminating  it,  it  being  understood  that 
should  either  ally  be  actually  engaged  in  war,  the 
treaty  must  ipso  facto  continue  in  force  until  peace  is 
concluded.  The  language  of  these  most  important 
clauses  is  clumsy  — perhaps  it  was  the  intention  of 
the  makers  to  have  it  so;  for  whereas  the  treaty  is 
a five  years’  treaty,  the  qualifying  clauses  which 
follow  the  actual  text  of  Article  VI.  can  be  under- 
stood to  mean  that  so  long  as  neither  party  de- 
nounces the  instrument  it  can  remain  in  force 
indefinitely.  This  may  be  explained  by  assuming 
that  the  possibility  of  war  actually  occurring  or 
merely  threatening  during  the  decade  ending  1910 
was  foreseen,  and  that  the  treaty  being  a frank  and 
manly  instrument  gives  each  party  much  latitude. 
Unless,  therefore,  the  treaty  is  denounced  by  the 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


469 


30th  January,  1906,  it  may  remain  in  force  for  a 
number  of  months  after  the  Russo-Japanese  war 
has  ended  without  causing  misgivings  to  either 
signatory. 

The  second  possibility,  that  is,  that  the  treaty  be 
merely  renewed,  is  therefore  to  some  extent  covered 
by  the  first  — at  least  for  a number  of  years,  although, 
of  course,  the  refixing  of  another  five  or  ten  year 
period  would  have  to  come,  were  the  wisdom  of 
renewal  admitted  by  both  parties.  Finally,  the 

third  possibility  — the  extension  of  the  Alliance  so 
as  to  make  it  so  binding  that  it  would  include  as 
provisions  in  its  terms  the  maintenance  of  the  status 
quo  in  every  part  of  Asia  and  practically  turn  Eng- 
land and  Japan  into  a single  country  in  peace  or 
war,  although  it  has  been  brought  into  prominence 
by  an  inspired  discussion  in  the  Tokyo  Press,  has 
evidently  been  carefully  considered  in  India  and 
England  for  some  time  in  the  past.  What,  then, 

should  be  done?  Should  the  Alliance  be  cancelled, 
or  renewed,  or  its  terms  extended? 

It  is  quite  evident  that  public  opinion  in  both 
England  and  Japan  is  entirely  against  any  idea  of 
cancellation,  and  that  therefore  this  first  possibility 
may  be  at  once  dismissed  as  both  impolitic  and 

uncontemplated.  This  narrows  down  the  field  to 
much  smaller  dimensions  and  places  the  matter  in 
a somewhat  different  light.  Admitting  that  the 
Alliance  must  be  renewed,  it  remains  only  to  be 

decided  on  what  terms  that  renewal  must  take  place. 
And  here  it  is  to  be  asked  what  terms  will  give  the 


470 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


maximum  amount  of  strength  with  the  minimum 
amount  of  risk  to  both  countries. 

It  must  be  confessed  at  once  that  so  far  the 
Alliance  has  entirely  fulfilled  its  object,  although 
whether  it  will  continue  to  do  so  is  a different 
question  altogether.  Thus  it  has  cleared  the  ring 
of  all  persons  excepting  the  two  belligerents ; it 
has  not  permitted  fresh  encroachments  to  be  made 
on  Chinese  territory;  and  it  has  inspired  a whole- 
some fear  — if  also  a bitter  enmity  — in  the  breast  of 
every  European  Power.  Whether  it  will  be  equally 
efficacious  later  on  cannot  now  be  answered,  but  as 
the  re-armament  of  the  British  artillery,  the  concen- 
tration of  the  Indian  Army  on  the  Indian  frontier, 
and  the  re-distribution  and  consequent  increase  in 
striking  power  of  the  British  Navy  will  be  in  all 
probability  completed  before  the  present  hostilities 
come  to  an  end,  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing 
that  the  British  Government  will  be  in  any  but  a 
confident  mood.  Supposing  that  the  treaty  will 
fully  serve  its  purpose  up  to  the  end  of  its  term,  it 
is  self-evident  that  much  will  depend  on  the  final 
results  of  the  war  as  to  whether  it  will  be 
politic  to  extend  its  provisions  in  the  manner  which 
has  been  already  suggested  in  the  Press,  or  whether 
such  a course  would  be  a rash  undertaking  for  both 
countries.  Should  Japan  succeed,  it  would  be 

to  the  advantage  of  both  signatories  of  the  Alliance 
to  call  a confidential  conference  at  Tokyo,  at 
which,  in  addition  to  other  interests,  India  and 
China  would  be  adequately  and  directly  represented. 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


471 


and  only  then  to  arrive  at  an  understanding  which 
would  be  one  of  the  most  momentous  ever 
recorded  in  Asia,  embodying  in  a clear  and 
accurate  document  an  Alliance  which  would  mean 
the  re-shaping  of  the  entire  East. 

But  it  must  not  be  lightly  supposed  that  such  a 
conference  has  only  to  be  held  and  the  new  pro- 
visions of  the  treaty  decided  on  for  all  obstacles  to 
be  removed.  What  will  be  seen  elsewhere  about 
public  opinion  in  the  Far  East  on  the  subject  of  the 
great  war  will  make  it  clear  to  all  that,  in  spite  of 
so-called  rapprochements  which  have  lately  been  the 
order  of  the  day  in  Europe,  every  Power  in  Christen- 
dom excepting  England  and  the  United  States  is 
at  heart  bitterly  opposed  to  the  Japanese;  and  that 
the  present  irritation  against  England  for  having 
entered  into  the  Far  Eastern  Alliance  may  not  only 
develop  ten-fold  if  the  provisions  of  that  Alliance 
are  extended,  but  may  actually  lead  to  another 
Titanic  struggle  which  may  finally  decide  the  fate 
of  Asia.  Neither  must  the  fact  be  lost  sight 
of  that  any  agreement  which  ignores  China,  and 
does  not  take  her  into  the  confidence  of  the  signatory 
Powers,  will  lead  to  great  trouble  in  the  near  future,  as 
it  is  now  amply  clear  that  China  in  a very  few  years 
will  occupy  a very  different  position  from  the  insig- 
nificant one  she  holds  to-day.  Any  extension  of 
the  Anglo- Japanese  Alliance  will  increase  mutual 
responsibilities  enormously,  will  create  new  risks, 
add  to  already  existing  enmities,  and  be  fraught  with 
many  perils  of  the  gravest  kind.  Instead  of  the 


472 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


flames  of  war  lighting  Manchuria’s  hills  and  plains 
as  they  do  now,  they  may,  soon  after  they  have  died 
down,  leap  sky-high  once  again  along  an  immense 
land  frontier  extending  from  Asia  Minor  to  the  seas 
of  Okhotsk,  involving  the  whole  world  in  the 
bloodiest  conflict  ever  known.  For  the  fighting 
spirit  is  still  as  strong  to-day,  although  it  is  slightly 
masked  by  a veneer  of  civilization,  as  it  has  ever 
been  before,  and  one  war  passes  the  lust  all  over  the 
world.  The  grand  lesson  of  the  war,  that  a railway 
can  do  almost  anything  it  is  called  upon  to  do,  must 
teach  all  sooner  or  later  that  sea-power  is  no  longer 
what  it  once  was,  and  that  rail-power  is  sharply  con- 
testing the  hitherto  uncontested  title  which  the 
waters  have  possessed  for  many  years.  All  Europe, 
excepting  England,  may  reach  Asia  by  rail,  and  in 
ten  or  twenty  years  Russia  may  not  be  the  only 
Power  favoured  in  the  matter  of  railway  communica- 
tion in  Asia  as  she  is  to-day. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  is  essential,  in  a 
manner  which  admits  of  no  contradiction,  that  the 
second  Anglo-Saxon  power,  the  United  States, 
should  be  fully  consulted,  and  the  true  views  of  that 
Government  learnt,  before  England  can  commit 
herself  definitely  to  a policy  which  cannot,  once  it  is 
adopted,  be  laid  aside  again  for  a number  of  years. 
The  recent  action  of  the  United  States  Senate 
Committee  in  the  matter  of  European  arbitration 
treaties  is  difficult  to  assess  at  its  proper  value;  it 
may  be  read  as  implying  that  the  United  States  wish 
to  retain  full  liberty  of  action  and  do  not  desire  to 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


473 


bind  themselves  in  any  way  or  in  any  shape  to  any 
Power  or  group  of  Powers;  or  on  the  other  hand  it 
may  mean  that  some  of  the  results  of  the  conflict 
have  already  been  foreseen  and  that  America 
believes  that  more  fighting  must  come  in  which 
she  may  be  involved.  In  any  case  it  is  obvious 
that,  until  the  fate  of  High  Asia  and  China  is  decided, 
arbitration  is  dead. 

Granted  that  the  Asiatic  dominions  of  the  British 
Crown  are  properly  consulted,  that  China  is  included 
in  a very  special  manner  in  any  arrangements 
entered  into,  and  that  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment concurs  fully  in  such  arrangements,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  a treaty  guaranteeing  the  status  quo 
in  the  whole  of  Asia  and  making  it  incumbent  on 
the  second  of  the  two  signatories  to  draw  its  sword 
on  behalf  of  the  first  if  wantonly  attacked,  possesses 
merits  and  a general  attractiveness  which  it  is 
impossible  to  deny. 

But  hand  in  hand  with  the  signature  of  such  an 
instrument  would  have  to  go  a strict  delimitation  of 
frontiers  along  the  entire  mainland  of  Asia,  so  that 
the  nature  of  the  responsibilities  assumed  would  not 
only  be  properly  understood  but  thoroughly  brought 
home  to  everyone.  For  in  the  case  of  China,  it  is 
not  unlikely  to  suppose  that  should  Russia  invade 
Chinese  Turkestan  and  Mongolia  and  cynically  seize 
portions  of  these  vast  territories,  the  Peking 
Government  would  turn  to  the  makers  of  the  Anglo- 
Japanese  Alliance  and  ask  immediately  for  help. 
If  such  demands  were  met  by  a diplomatic  non 


474 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


possumus^  the  results  would  be  grave,  for  Chinese 
officials  would  not  be  slow  to  conclude  that  the  great 
Eastern  Alliance  had  been  entered  into  merely  for 
the  benefit  of  the  two  signatories  and  for  no  one 
else.  And  thus  China  would  be  forced  to  resume 
the  old  attitude  of  coquetting  with  everybody  until 
she  was  strong  enough  to  throw  down  the  gauntlet 
to  all.  In  fact,  by  far  the  greatest  portion  of  the 
entire  Eastern  question  is  now  a question  of  the 
Chinese  land-frontier  — not  the  narrow  frontiers  of 
the  eighteen  provinces,  but  the  immense  Manchurian- 
Mongolian-Turkestan  frontier,  which  stretches  from 
the  Ussuri  line  to  the  Hindu  Kush  and  Western 
Kasgaria  and  measures  some  five  thousand  miles. 
Whatever  the  end  of  the  present  war  may  be,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  pressure  will  be  immediately  felt 
on  this  land-frontier.  Indeed,  seeing  that  Russia  would 
be  hard  to  attack  were  she  to  march  openly  into 
Chinese  Turkestan  and  Mongolia,  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  end  of  the  war  may  see  Russia 
withdrawing  her  last  troops  from  Manchuria,  pushing 
them  into  other  Chinese  dependencies,  and  proclaim- 
ing the  annexation  of  a block  of  territory  ten  times 
the  size  of  Japan  as  a quid  pro  quo  for  the  loss  of 
Manchuria  and  the  Primorsk,  and  as  a summary 
vengeance  on  China  for  not  confirming  the  Muscovite 
arrangements,  tentatively  made  regarding  the  three 
Eastern  provinces  long  before  there  was  an  immedi- 
ate prospect  of  the  present  war. 

The  extension  of  the  Anglo- Japanese  Alliance 
may  therefore  demand  immediate  action  — such  as 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


475 


the  despatch  of  Indo- Japanese  expeditionary  forces 
to  proceed  to  the  relief  and  temporary  occupation  of 
strategical  points  in  Chinese  Turkestan,  Persia,  and 
Mongolia,  possibly  in  company  with  the  newly  raised 
Chinese  forces ; whilst  hand-in-hand  measures 

would  have  to  be  devised  for  helping  China  finan- 
cially so  that  her  modern  army  could  be  rapidly 
increased  in  numbers  until  it  reached  half  a million 
men.  Much  railway  building,  too,  would  have  to 
follow  the  conclusion  of  such  a new  Alliance,  for  it 
is  now  impossible  to  move  troops  without  rail- 
transport.  The  question  of  putting  the  Indian 
Empire  into  railway  communication  with  the  Chinese 
Empire  may  arise  at  once,  making  the  investment  of 
heavy  amounts  of  money  an  immediate  necessity. 
These  are  but  a few  of  the  points  which  immediately 
suggest  themselves,  and,  seeing  the  vast  field  which 
has  to  be  covered,  a conference  fully  attended  by 
large  numbers  of  high  officials  of  the  two  Powers 
concerned  seems  absolutely  essential. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  certain  aspects  of  the 
case  which  Japan^s  detractors  are  pleased  to  make 
out  against  her  have  been  touched  on,  such  as 
the  defective  commercial  morality  which  has  un- 
doubtedly existed  to  some  extent  in  the  past;  the 
indifferent  administration  of  justice  in  a number  of 
cases;  the  distaste  which  the  masses  at  heart  have 
for  the  European ; and  the  as  yet  partial  success 
of  the  immense  effort  made  by  the  Japanese  Govern- 
ment to  bridge  the  East  and  the  West.  No  men- 
tion has  been  made  of  another  point  — Japan’s 


476 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


alleged  desire  to  become  the  dictator  and  leader  of 
Asia  — because  events  will  show  that  this  is  an 
entirely  irrational  and  foolish  idea  which  has  never 
been  seriously  considered  by  responsible  Japanese 
statesmen.  But  the  points  which  have  been  dwelt 
on,  at  a time  which  some  might  consider  both  in- 
opportune and  impolitic,  have  been  mentioned  in 
order  to  throw  the  more  into  relief  another 
matter  — the  inflexible  resolve  of  Japan’s  leaders  to 
conquer  all  the  many  difficulties  which  beset  their 
path,  and  to  change  completely  the  attitude  of  the 
whole  nation  in  matters  where  a change  is  desirable. 
It  is  wholly  unnecessary  to  speak  of  the  high  ideals 
which  such  men  possess,  and  the  success  which  is 
already  crowning  their  efforts.  Every  year  sees 
more  and  more  Japanese  educated  in  such  a manner 
as  to  saturate  them  with  Anglo-Saxon  ideals;  every 
year  sees  such  men  progress  more  and  more  away 
from  old-time  conceptions  to  new-time  ones.  Headed 
by  the  samurai  classes,  the  common  people  are 
rapidly  beginning  to  look  at  many  matters  from  a 
different  standpoint,  and  ten  years  after  this  great 
war  is  over  a remarkable  change  will  have  been 
witnessed  in  every  department  of  their  life.  The 
Japanese  Government  well  knows  that  it  is  just  as 
dangerous  to  go  too  fast  as  to  go  too  slow;  and, 
therefore,  education,  the  improvement  of  communi- 
cations, the  development  of  manufactories  and  in- 
dustries must  be  the  leaders  in  the  new  movement, 
and  not  mere  paper  decrees  and  laws,  of  which 
there  are  already  a surfeit.  The  Japanese  Govern- 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


477 


ment  is  likewise  to  be  trusted  absolutely,  and  when 
the  one  million  men  who  have  gone  out  into  the 
world  in  pursuance  of  its  policy  come  back  from 
the  war,  the  influence  they  will  exert  will  be  a very 
great  one.  The  old  feeling  which  oppressed  Japan 
secretly  for  nearly  half  a century  — the  feeling  that 
she  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men  — will  have 
completely  disappeared,  and  in  its  place  will  come 
a new-born  confidence  which  at  first  may  appear 
truculent,  but  which  will  soften  down  with  time.  Be- 
fore this  war,  Japan  had  all  the  feelings  of  a debtor 
who  is  haunted  by  forebodings  that  creditors  will 
pounce  down  unjustly  one  day  and  distrain  lands 
and  chattels.  After  the  war,  of  such  a feeling  there 
will  not  be  a trace. 

And  in  the  important  matters  of  finance  and  com- 
merce, a great  improvement  will  also  take  place 
which  should  soon  make  Japan  the  fifth  or  sixth 
trading  nation  of  the  world.  In  1903  Japanese 
trade  was  valued  at  some  ;^6 1,000,000  sterling. 
During  1904,  in  spite  of  the  war,  a remarkable  if 
forced  expansion  took  place,  raising  the  yearly 
amount  to  nearly  £^0,000,000  sterling.  Before 
the  end  of  another  decade  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
this  trade  will  be  valued  at  £3  per  head,  and  that 
the  population , by  then  exceeding  50,000,000  of 
people,  will  possess  a commerce  equal  to  ;^i  50,000,000 
sterling  per  annum.  Twenty  or  thirty  years  from 
now  even  this  figure  may  be  doubled,  and  what  this 
will  mean  to  the  rest  of  the  Far  East  is  not  yet 
realised.  Nor  will  European  trade  suffer  by  this 


478 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


CHAP. 


development  of  Japanese  industries.  On  the  con- 
trary, all  past  experience  confirms  the  belief  that  the 
growth  of  Japanese  commerce  will  be  accompanied 
by  a corresponding  expansion  in  the  commerce  of 
other  nations.  All  will  benefit  alike  in  trade 

matters. 

The  money  markets  of  England  and  America 
have  the  most  serious  stakes  in  this  trade.  Already 
;^5 2,000,000  of  war  loans  have  been  placed  in 
London  and  New  York.  Nor  is  it  realised  by 
English  people  how  important  a share  of  Japanese 
trade  they  already  possess.  In  1903  — the  complete 
figures  for  1904  being  not  yet  available  — the  ex- 
ports of  the  British  Empire  to  Japan  approached 
;^i  3,000,000,  whilst  the  imports  from  Japan  were 
;^7, 000,000,  or  32  per  cent,  of  the  entire  trade. 
The  United  States  accounted  for  another  ;^i  3,000,000 
more;  and  thus  the  two  Anglo-Saxon  Powers  have 
“a  controlling  Interest’^  in  Japan^s  development. 
The  great  increase  of  imports  into  Japan  during 
1904,  an  increase  exceeding  54,000,000  yen,  has 
been  almost  entirely  credited  to  British  Empire 
and  American  trade;  and  after  the  war  the  demand 
for  machinery,  tools,  and  more  costly  manufactures 
will  be  very  exceptional. 

Having  traced  historically  the  responsibility  which 
has  been  incurred  by  Anglo-Saxondom,  and  more 
especially  by  England,  in  the  up-building  of  modern 
Japan,  it  must  be  clear  that  the  continuation  of  the 
Anglo- Japanese  Alliance,  until  such  time  as  Japan 
will  possess  the  money,  armies,  and  fleets  sufficient 


XIX 


ENGLAND  AND  JAPAN 


479 


to  be  able  to  stand  alone  in  the  Eastern  world 
without  fear  of  any  hostile  combination  being 
arrayed  once  more  against  her,  is  in  some  ways 
the  duty  which  English  statesmen  must  accept. 
But  although  the  Alliance  must  be  continued,  it 
does  not  follow  that  its  terms  must  be  extended. 
If  the  extension  is  contemplated  by  England  in 
order  to  accelerate  the  effacement  of  Great  Britain 
in  the  extreme  East,  then  every  British  subject  in 
the  Orient  will  be  bitterly  opposed  to  such  a mea- 
sure. Already  England,  in  an  official  sense,  is 
counted  a sleeping  quantity  in  China,  content  to 
lie  snoring  whilst  others  do  the  work.  Already 
British  gunboats  and  cruisers  are  being  withdrawn 
from  Chinese  waters  because  there  is  apparently  no 
such  word  as  prestige  in  the  text-books  of  efficiency. 
If  this  false  policy  is  still  more  closely  adhered  to 
because  Japan  has  proved  herself  invincible,  and 
because  the  Alliance  makes  it  for  the  time  being 
dangerous  for  others  to  move,  then,  sooner  than  see 
ourselves  eclipsed  and  relying  on  the  Island  Empire 
to  do  our  work,  it  would  be  better  to  make  an  im- 
mediate end,  as  soon  as  an  honourable  end  could  be 
made,  of  all  entangling  alliances.  We  do  not  wish 
to  wake  up  one  day  and  find,  like  certain  Roman 
Emperors,  that  the  armour  which  we  buckle  on  and 
the  swords  which  we  grasp  are  useless  because  de- 
pendence has  emasculated  us.  Therefore,  only  the 
most  searching  inquiry  by  competent  men  can  tell 
how  far  it  will  be  wise  for  us  to  go  in  a matter 
which  one  day  may  be  of  transcendent  importance. 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 

Once  more  back  in  uninteresting  Shimonoseki, 
with  the  swirling  green-black  current  pouring 
through  the  narrow  straits,  the  high  hills  gloomily 
surveying  the  busy  scene,  and  the  grimy  colliers 
from  half  the  ports  of  the  Far  East  flying  flags  of 
many  maritime  Powers,  waiting  their  turn  until  the 
coal  which  stands  mountain  high  under  the  shutes 
on  the  distant  shore  can  be  crashed  in  endless 
streams  into  the  holds. 

It  is.  not  so  uninteresting,  however,  this  coaling 
port  in  these  great  war-days,  for  the  Shimonoseki 
Straits  are  the  gates  of  Japan,  and  through  them 
come  hurrying  both  transports  loaded  with  cheering 
troops  longing  to  close  with  the  enemy,  and  hospital- 
ships,  sometimes  merely  clean  and  silent,  and  some- 
times thick  with  human  ants  stricken  whilst  they 
were  climbing  up  to  Port  Arthur  or  Nanshan,  or  to 
the  great  Manchurian  passes,  and  now  crawling 
home  to  get  well  if  possible,  and  then  die  properly, 
as  they  should,  on  the  grim  battlefields.  Then 
there  are  always  torpedo-boats  and  despatch- vessels 

480 


CH.  XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


481 


racing  in  and  out,  and  not  staying  a minute  to  hoot 
their  greetings  inshore.  Chartered  merchantmen, 
too,  form  processions  flying  their  numbers,  and 
tramps,  who  have  owners  loving  speculation,  follow 
at  their  heels  loaded  with  palpable  contraband  — 
every  kind  of  vessel  engaged  in  feeding  the  war  is 
hurriedly  tooting  across  to  and  fro,  and  by  day  all 
Shimonoseki  looks  on. 

Even  at  night,  when  all  is  dark,  it  is  easy  to  see, 
for  on  either  shore  are  huge,  spluttering  arc-lamps 
ranged  on  the  water  like  the  footlights  of  some 
gigantic  theatre,  which  turn  the  water,  never  tired 
of  racing  at  six  knots  an  hour,  so  black  and  so 
treacherous  that  you  see,  as  it  were,  the  Kuro 
Shiwo,  or  famous  gulf  stream  of  Japan,  coming  up 
from  the  southern  seas  to  lap  the  coasts  and  give 
them  a sub- tropical  vegetation,  when  by  rights  their 
climate  should  be  rather  extreme  than  temperate. 

By  daytime  it  is  the  hospital-ships  I like  to  see  as 
close  as  possible  as  they  swing  in  from  the  Man- 
churian coasts,  sometimes  anchoring  for  the  night. 
The  wounded  and  sick  escape  from  below,  at  least 
such  as  can  persuade  themselves  that  they  can  walk, 
hastily  clamber  up  gangways,  huddled  in  the  ubi- 
quitous red  blanket  that  comforts  but  does  not 
beautify,  and  then  stand  staring,  massed  on  every 
coign  of  vantage  on  the  ship  — thus  forming  con- 
tinuous blotches  of  red,  with  their  eyes  big  with 
emotion  at  this  their  first  sight  of  the  Japan  they  had 
left  never  to  return.  All  the  sufferings  of  the  great 
battlefields  and  the  history  of  Japan’s  tremendous 

VOL.  I — 2 1 


482 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


CHAP. 


effort  seem  to  be  written  on  the  poor,  huddled  forms 
shrouded  in  red  blankets  as  they  troop  past  daily  in 
their  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  — a never 
ending  procession  of  eloquent  figures,  silent,  staring, 
maimed,  broken,  and  uncheered,  but  not  forgotten. 

Forty  years  ago  these  Straits  of  Shimonoseki 
were  the  sport  of  bombarding  war-vessels,  when 
punishment  had  to  be  meted  out  on  recalcitrant 
daimyos.  Now,  having  learnt  their  lesson,  they 
have  been  turned  by  fortification  into  impregnable 
sea-gates,  and  were  all  the  Japanese  fleet  to  be 
sunk  to-morrow,  no  hostile  ships  or  fleets  would 
venture  to  push  through  and  sully  the  beauty  and 
defencelessness  of  the  inland  sea. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  men  on  the  hospital- 
ships  are  thinking  of  these  things,  for,  lying  in  the 
stream  as  you  come  in  from  the  Asiatic  mainland, 
you  look  upon  batteries  half  hidden  on  the  wooded 
heights  above  and  see  gloomy  muzzles  peering 
down,  the  glint  of  bayonets  and  the  suspicion  of 
those  concrete  emplacements  which  defy  all  but 
the  most  powerful  cannon.  Flush  with  the  water 
all  'is  prosaic  commercialism,  but  high  up  are  the 
things  which  count  when  the  prosaic  is  threatened, 
and  towards  these  the  men  incline  their  heads.  It 
is  whispered  in  Japan  that  all  Nagasaki,  Shimono- 
seki, and  Tokyo  sea-forts  were  stripped  of  their  best 
guns  in  the  summer  to  help  in  the  bombardment  of 
doomed  Port  Arthur,  and  that,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  mined  harbours,  it  is  the  moral  fear  that  is 
counted  upon  to  do  the  most  work.  But  then 


XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


483 


many  things  are  being  whispered  now  in  Japan  by 
excited  people,  more  than  half  of  which  are  not 
true. 

The  men  on  the  Red  Cross  ships,  back  from  the 
wars,  look  eagerly,  and  find,  perhaps  to  their  as- 
tonishment, that  the  world  is  still  going  much  as 
usual,  and  that  Japan  is  still  the  same.  Only  at 
Shimonoseki  there  is  more  bustle  and  a great 
hurrying  about  in  sampans  and  launches  of  travel- 
lers bound  for  Korea,  for  which  the  army  and  the 
navy  have  to  be  thanked,  since  it  is  they  who  set 
the  tide  first  flowing  towards  the  hermit  kingdom. 
People  are  crowding  forward  from  many  districts  in 
Southern  Japan,  accompanied  by  whole  families,  who 
had  far  better  have  been  left  at  home,  to  fulfil  what 
Japan  has  come  to  suppose  is  her  natural  destiny  — 
the  colonisation  of  Korea.  Every  day  steamers 
leave  for  the  end  of  the  Korean  boot,  to  wit,  Fusan, 
which  is  the  heel,  and  every  day  fresh  crowds  of 
men,  women,  and  children,  belonging  to  every  class, 
accompanied  by  veritable  mountains  of  bamboo 
baskets,  rug  cover-alls,  sacks  and  bags  — all  the  light 
impedimenta  for  which  the  Japanese  are  famous  — 
pass  over  to  the  promised  land,  much  as  the  Rus- 
sians poured  into  Manchuria  by  rail,  to  find  that 
the  hopes  of  rapid  fortune-making  were  illusory. 

The  steamers  which  provide  this  Japan-Korean 
ferry  service  are  not  celebrated  for  their  beauty, 
cleanliness,  or  comfort,  and  it  is  best  to  wait  until 
the  turn  comes  of  one  of  the  only  two  boats  w^hich 
boast  of  real  passenger  accommodation.  The  usual  ^ 


484 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


CHAP. 


steamer  is  of  the  diminutive  cattle-boat  type,  and  if 
you  are  brave  enough  to  venture  on  such  a craft 
with  its  crazy  engines  and  its  ominous  roll,  which 
seems  merely  to  lurch  the  ship  forward,  you  must 
herd  it  with  a tribe  of  adventurers  who  are  the  dis- 
may even  of  the  Japanese  police.  These  steamers, 
however,  will  soon  be  relics  of  the  past,  and  in  their 
place  will  come  a daily  service  of  handsome  fifteen- 
knot  ferry-boats,  which  will  enable  the  journey  to  be 
made  between  Seoul  and  Tokyo  by  rail  via  the 
Korean  Straits  in  less  than  fifty  hours. 

You  leave  Shimonoseki  as  the  sun  sets,  and  before 
it  has  risen  again  you  are  steaming  into  Fusan 
harbour.  It  is  but  120  miles  from  port  to  port,  and 
if  you  travel  by  day  you  have  land  in  sight  nearly 
all  the  way:  for  the  big  island  of  Tsushima  stands 
sentry  midway  in  the  straits  with  dozens  of  outpost 
islands  dotted  near  and  far,  so  that  but  few  miles  of 
clear  water  are  left  on  either  side.  It  was  here  that 
the  daring  Vladivostock  cruiser  squadron  rushed 
down  and  caught  the  Japanese  transports  on  their 
way  from  Shimonoseki  to  Dalny,  loaded  with  siege 
guns,  platforms,  and  great  stores  of  ammunition  for 
Port  Arthur,  and  sent  the  ill-fated  Hitachi-marUy 
which  had  the  richest  cargo  of  all,  to  the  bottom, 
whilst  her  consorts  were  hopelessly  crippled.  Close 
as  has  been  the  watch  the  Japanese  secret  service 
has  kept  in  Japan,  it  did  not  prevent  information 
being  sent,  via  Shanghai  and  Peking,  across  Siberia 
to  Vladivostock,  and  when  the  war  is  ovei  some 
strange  things  will  transpire. 


XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


485 


As  if  to  show  that  the  most  innocent  questions 
asked,  even  by  those  whose  passports  place  them 
above  suspicion,  are  not  relished,  the  purser  of  the 
ship  provided  me  with  a set  of  answers  to  some  un- 
important questions  which  signalled  him  out  as  the 
most  consummate  wooden-head  ever  born.  He  told 
me  that  he  did  not  know  the  position  of  Korea,  nor 
whether  there  was  a war,  nor  who  were  the  bel- 
ligerents or  why  they  were  fighting,  and  by  his 
gloomy  manner  filled  me  with  a grave  suspicion 
as  to  whether  I was  alive,  or  whether  already 
embalmed.  Some  correspondents,  possessed  with 
a saving  sense  of  humour,  have  made  known  to  the 
world  the  absurd  lengths  to  which  this  alleged 
secretiveness  and  discretion  are  carried,  and  it  is 
high  time  now  that  every  unimportant  Japanese  of 
no  position  realised  that  in  his  bosom  no  secrets 
repose  which  are  worth  surprising,  and  that  a little 
more  common  sense  would  prevent  this  policy  from 
defeating  itself,  as  it  actually  has  done  on  several 
occasions. 

As  your  ship  steams  across  an  emerald  sea,  glassy 
and  motionless,  into  the  rocky  arms  of  land  stretched 
forth  to  receive  you,  you  understand  at  once  why 
Korea  is  called  the  Land  of  Morning  Calm.  By  day, 
even  with  the  rich,  red  sun  rising,  Korea  is  as  the 
stars  by  night,  cold,  beautiful,  but  a little  hopeless; 
rich,  but  with  the  land  swept  too  clean.  Above  you, 
every  profile  and  contour  is  as  clear-cut  as  a cameo; 
below  you  the  water  is  placid  and  peerless.  It  is, 
indeed,  the  land  of  morning  calm  with  its  white-clad 


486 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


CHAP. 


inhabitants  in  Eastern  mourning  for  a joyous  life 
which  can  never  be  theirs. 

And  coming  from  beautiful  Japan  with  its  sage- 
green  harbours,  wooded  so  thickly  on  the  surround- 
ing heights  that  the  setting  draws  your  attention 
more  than  the  picture,  Korea  looks  singularly  forlorn, 
although  it  has  a beauty  which  is  peculiarly  its  own. 
Not  a tree,  excepting  a few  scant  striplings  which 
mournfully  wave  at  the  top  of  mountainous  skylines 
and  a few  clumps  of  imported  trees  in  the  town  of 
Fusan;  no  green  vegetation  spreads  itself  invitingly 
across  the  land  — there  is  nothing  but  brown  mother 
earth,  with  great  boulders  of  fantastic  and  uncouth 
shape  strewn  about  the  desolate  hills  which  rise 
above  the  harbour.  When  you  come  ashore  you 
will  discover,  maybe,  cultivation,  biit  in  the  distance 
there  is  nothing  but  primitive  Korea  with  no  earth 
scratchings  out  of  which  grow  abundant  crops  to 
enliven  it. 

It  is  comical  to  watch  the  expectant  crowd  of 
Japanese  passengers  who,  after  having  passed  an 
uncomfortable  night  in  temporary  encampments  on 
the  deck,  have  risen  with  the  coming  of  dawn  so 
that  no  sight  of  the  promised  land  may  be  missed. 
They  are  wonder-struck  that  but  a few  miles  of 
water  should  have  brought  such  a change,  and  that 
familiar  Japan  should  have  given  place  to  such  un- 
familiar sights.  “It  is  very  bald,’’  complains  one 
man.  “The  land  is  cold,”  says  another  man,  en- 
couragingly; “it  is  we  who  are  going  to  heat  it  with 
the  sun  of  Japan.” 


Along  the  Japanese  Coast. 


XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


487 


It  is  still  in  a way  half  Japan,  however,  for  a 
great  crowd  of  Japanese  fishing- boats  and  sailing 
ships  are  collected  in  Fusan  harbour;  the  town 
itself,  that  is  the  modern  town,  is  almost  wholly 
Japanese,  with  pretty  streets  and  cleanly  houses, 
looking  bright  in  the  distance,  and  a familiar  police- 
man, in  the  Eton  jacket  of  unholy  memory,  comes 
off  immediately  the  Customs  have  taken  the  ship’s 
papers  and  places  himself  resolutely  at  the  gangway, 
notebook  in  hand,  the  arbiter  of  all  who  wish  to 
place  their  feet  on  terra  firma.  Nothing  so  quickly 
chases  nostalgia  as  the  sight  of  that  inevitable 
policeman. 

As  the  deck  passengers  file  past  him  each  is  made 
to  show  his  papers  and  submit  to  having  his  name, 
occupation,  and  town  of  origin  duly  recorded  — and 
suspicious  characters  who  have  succeeded  in  evading 
the  home  police  are  summarily  dealt  with.  Occasion- 
ally a man  attempts  to  object  and  argues  with  the 
policeman.  The  latter  then  turns  on  the  man  with 
a grim  martial-law  look,  and  the  ne’er-do-wells 
collapse  hopelessly,  stricken  to  the  marrow  — such  is 
the  power  of  the  Japanese  police. 

Here  in  Fusan,  as  in  other  Japanese  settlements 
along  the  coast  of  Korea  of  the  ports  thrown  open 
to  trade,  the  police  are  the  envoys  of  the  Japanese 
Consulates,  which  manage  to  control  all  the  resident 
Japanese  population  very  rigidly  in  spite  of  a 
nominal  municipal  government.  Even  when  the 
policeman  is  satisfied,  the  Japanese  emigrant  is  not 
free  in  Fusan;  he  is  handed  over  to  the  tender 


488 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


CH.\P. 


mercies  of  a ferry-boat  company,  which  is  a Japanese 
institution  and  possesses  a monopoly  enabling  it  to 
exact  its  pound  of  flesh  from  every  new-comer,  so 
that  the  Fusan  harbour  works  may  later  on  be 
completed. 

The  Japanese  passengers  are  loaded,  lamb-like, 
into  big  sampans,  and  they  continue  to  be  loaded  in, 
together  with  their  baskets,  their  cloth  bags,  their 
babies,  and  their  wives,  until  only  an  inch  or  two  of 
free-board  remains.  Then  the  sampan  men,  who 
are  a mixed  crew  of  Japanese  and  Koreans,  yuloh 
slowly  and  condescendingly  to  the  shore,  which 
is  but  two  hundred  yards  off,  and  for  their  services 
exact  an  exorbitant  fee.  As  time  is  no  object  in 
Korea,  I amused  myself  calculating  the  takings  of  a 
single  boat-load;  and  to  my  surprise  it  amounted  to 
twelve  yen  or  twenty-four  shillings,  which,  con- 
sidering the  purchasing  value  of  money  in  the  Far 
East,  represents  a five-pound  note  in  England.  A 
few  weeks  in  Korea  brought  numberless  cases  of 
similar  extortions,  always  possible  because  of  virtual 
monopolies,  before  my  eyes;  barbers  charging  a yen 
for  shaving  you  ; rickshaws  pulled  by  Japanese 
demanding  minimum  fares  of  two  or  three  yen ; 
everyone  attempting  to  seize  fortune  by  the  forelock 
and  thus  enable  themselves  to  return  home  rich. 

Once  on  shore  in  Fusan  you  can  exhaust  the 
possibilities  of  the  place  very  rapidly.  Fusan  is 
almost  entirely  Japanese  in  every  respect,  and  the 
few  thousand  Koreans  who  live  within  the  port 
limits  have  to  adapt  themselves  to  Japanese  ways. 


XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


489 


The  Japanese  Consulate  takes  the  place  of  all  the 
authorities  who  usually  control  such  large  popu- 
lations, and,  excepting  the  Chinese  Consulate,  there  is 
no  other  nationality  officially  represented  in  the  town. 

The  little  settlement  of  former  years  has  grown  in 
an  astonishing  manner  since  the  war,  and  shows  an 
affluence  which  promises  to  increase  largely,  once 
the  railway  has  linked  it  to  Seoul  and  the  Northern 
provinces  and  converted  it  in  the  place  of  Dalny 
into  the  real  terminus  of  the  Asiatic  continent.  The 
actual  Japanese  population  is  12,000  at  the  moment, 
whilst  the  fishing  population  of  Southern  Korea, 
which  makes  Fusan  its  headquarters,  is  now 
estimated  to  exceed  20,000.  A huge  harbour  and 
reclamation  scheme  is  in  progress,  and  when  it  is 
finished  in  1906,  Fusan  will  have  admirable  railway 
wharves,  from  which  loading  and  unloading  will 
proceed  on  the  most  up-to-date  principles.  At 
present  the  steamers  lie  out  in  the  stream,  and  the 
whole  raised  and  bunded  foreshore,  which  will  one 
day  be  crowded  with  godowns  and  warehouses,  is 
covered  with  light  railway  tracks.  Wild -looking 
Koreans,  with  their  top-knots  streaming  out  behind 
them  in  the  wind,  come  coasting  down  on  lorries 
loaded  with  mud  from  the  hills  behind  the  town,  and 
dump  their  cargoes  on  the  fast-completing  works 
with  shouts  which  astonish  you.  Here  in  Fusan 
the  Japanese  coolie  is  no  longer  the  unskilled 
labourer  he  is  in  Japan  — he  has  blossomed  into  a 
shift-boss,  controlling  labour  and  seeing  that  it 
keeps  up  to  the  required  level  by  the  use  of 


490 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


CHAP. 


vigorous  language  sometimes  backed  by  a thick 
stick.  It  is  the  only  method  for  the  Korean,  who, 
distinguished  among  all  the  men  of  this  earth  for 
his  listlessness  and  utter  lack  of  interest  excepting 
in  his  immediate  surroundings,  will  not  move  unless 
he  is  coerced.  How  jealous  would  the  lazzaroni 
of  Naples  become  could  they  but  behold  the  peace- 
ful laziness  of  their  Korean  brothers! 

In  the  town,  however,  an  hour  after  landing  you 
are  convinced  that  the  Japanese  have  at  least 
succeeded  at  the  treaty  port  settlements  in  drilling 
the  natives  to  an  appreciable  extent.  In  Fusan  you 
will  find  mixed  Korean- Japanese  shops  which  have 
a briskness  you  do  not  find  even  in  modern  Japan. 
In  such  establishments,  where  the  sale  of  cotton 
cloth  is  the  principal  item  of  trade,  a sharp  buying 
and  selling  is  always  proceeding.  Already  the  rail- 
way, whose  fares  are  very  moderate,  is  bringing 
down  numbers  of  farmers  loaded  with  the  detestable 
nickel  coin  of  the  country  (which  is  the  despair  of 
financiers),  and  sees  them  make  their  season’s 
purchases  in  Fusan  instead  of  waiting  until  pedlars 
appear  at  their  doors,  as  was  the  former  custom. 
It  is  an  instructive  sight  to  see  the  counting  out  of 
several  stones’  weight  of  these  nickels  in  payment  for 
a small  consignment  of  piece-goods.  Everybody 
lends  a willing  hand;  the  nickels  are  stacked  up  in 
imposing  piles,  the  piles  grow  into  great  parcels  of 
coin,  and  when  the  intelligent  stranger  would  imagine 
that  a fortune  lay  before  his  eyes,  there  is  hardly  the 
price  of  a five-pound  note. 


XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


491 


All  this,  however,  makes  for  a brisk  trade,  and 
the  Fusan  Customs  receipts  have  shown  a remark- 
able and  well-sustained  increase  since  the  war  and 
the  building  of  the  railway.  At  the  end  of  1904  the 
monthly  receipts  are  already  exceeding  forty 
thousand  yen  a month,  which  means  that  Fusan  will 
soon  have  a yearly  Customs  revenue  of  half  a 
million  yen  a month,  making  it  easily  the  second 
port  of  the  peninsula  in  commercial  importance. 

Beyond  the  Fusan  settlement  limits,  however, 
you  soon  see  how  much  there  is  to  do  in  the 
country  and  how  little  so  far  accomplished. 
Out  on  the  country  bridle-tracks  Korean  men  of 
the  farmer  class  stride  leisurely  along  in  their  pic- 
turesque clothing  of  spotless  white  and  their  emi- 
nently respectable  top-hats.  No  haste  is  theirs  but 
only  sauntering;  they  are  the  gentlemen  of  the  Far 
East  — they  are  everything  that  is  nice ; and  then, 
just  as  you  have  succeeded  in  placing  them  on  the 
pinnacle  of  everything  refined,  you  see  them  disap- 
pear into  wretched  hovels,  the  like  of  which  does  not 
exist  even  in  China,  apparently  without  any  feeling 
at  all  on  the  subject.  Surely  to  have  his  proper  setting 
the  stately  Korean  should  enter  a commodious  club 
where,  picking  up  the  local  equivalent  of  the 
Times,  he  would  pass  leisurely  hours  in  the  perusal 
of  the.  news  from  the  nickel-market.  For  never  was 
there  such  a race  of  gentlemen  in  looks,  preliminary 
manner,  carriage,  and  general  mien  as  the  Koreans, 
and  it  is  small  wonder  that  a large  part  of  the  male 
population  is  a leisure  class  of  the  most  pronounced 


492 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


CHAP. 


type.  Then  the  little  boys  look  like  little  girls,  and 
when  the  real  girls  appear,  a feeling  of  bashfulness 
overcomes  one  at  the  successful  decolletage  which 
begins  with  the  breasts  and  only  ends  with  the  waist. 

Strolling  out  beyond  Fusan  you  come  on  the 
rabbit  warrens  of  huts  which,  huddled  together  in 
the  hollows  of  hillsides,  are  dignified  by  the  name 
of  villages.  From  behind  closed  doors  and  windows 
comes  a constant  soft  buzzing  of  voices.  If  you 
step  too  near  and  succeed  in  arousing  curiosity  by 
your  unsuspected  presence,  the  voices  suddenly 
cease,  the  door-windows  are  as  suddenly  pushed 
open,  and  you  see  to  your  surprise  that  your 
animal  simile  is  extraordinarily  good.  A whole  litter 
of  eminently  respectable  persons  with  their  top-hats 
on  are  all  seated  so  close  and  so  compactly 
together  that  tinned  sardines  would  be  jealous. 
The  litter  of  respectable  persons  surveys  you  with 
an  unblinking,  placid  curiosity,  the  voices  stilled  by 
fear  into  silence.  There  are  perhaps  from  ten 
to  fifteen  persons  in  as  many  square  feet  of  house,  and 
streaks  of  smoke  arising  from  a like  number  of  pipes 
thicken  the  atmosphere.  Yes,  you  feel  inclined  most 
certainly  to  root  up  one  of  the  convenient  cabbages, 
which  can  be  reached  by  hanging  out  of  the 
windows,  and  approaching  near  very  carefully 
tender  the  vegetable  for  a friendly  nibble.  Oh, 
wonderful  Koreans,  the  most  patient,  the  most 
stately,  and  withal  the  most  strong-smelling  people 
in  the  world,  what  are  you  always  thinking  and 
talking  about! 


XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


493 


Scattered  round  the  country,  these  humble  dwell- 
ings impress  you,  twenty- four  hours  after  arriving  in 
Fusan,  with  the  difficulty  of  the  Japanese  problem; 
for  there  is  so  little  tangible,  so  little  development 
in  Korea,  the  people  have  such  a vis  inertice  of 
hopelessness,  that  you  grasp  only  at  air. 

There  are  countless  mountain-ranges  and  barren 
hills,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  huts,  a few  cities,  a 
lesser  number  of  beautiful  hermit  temples  which 
have  survived  from  a happier  age ; lots  of  brawn 

and  muscle  which  labour  ox-like  on  the  fields 

and  roads  and  — nothing  else.  Over  this  slow,  | 

mulish,  deliberate,  stubborn  nation  rules  a corrupt 
Court  and  an  impotent  Emperor,  both  of  whom,  ] 

allied  over  the  Japanese  question,  bring  every 
exasperating  quality  into  play  to  block  every- 
thing which  is  not  huts,  mountains,  and  hills,  white 
baggy  garments,  spurious  nickels,  tobacco  and  rice 
— in  a word,  the  very  devil  of  a conservative  country, 
which  wishes  and  is  determined  to  learn  nothing 
new  if  brute-force  can  oppose  it. 

But  the  pleasant  town  of  Fusan,  lying  basking  in 
the  sun  with  its  clean  streets  and  its  purely  Japanese 
aspect,  is  concerned  only  with  trade  and  cares  not 
for  abstract  questions.  There  are  but  few  Europeans 
here  in  Fusan;  two  or  three  in  the  Korean  Customs, 
four  or  five  missionaries,  and  perhaps  an  occasional 
traveller  or  sportsman  passing  as  quickly  as  he  can 
into  the  interior.  The  town  is  even  gloriously 
devoid  of  a good  Japanese  hotel,  but  the  railway 
authorities  are  going  to  remedy  that,  and  a Euro- 


494 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


CHAP. 


pean  railway  hotel  will  shortly  welcome  the  through 
traveller. 

Four  miles  from  Fusan  is  old  Fusan,  which  is 
rather  like  old  Harbin  in  Manchuria;  the  skeleton 
and  bones  of  a former  brisk  life  with  nothing  worth 
seeing  at  the  present  moment.  These  old  Korean 
towns  testify  to  happier  days.  Solid  gateways  of 
stone  and  the  remains  of  city  walls,  and  dilapidated 
official  buildings  of  Chinese  appearance,  have 
generally  managed  to  survive  from  the  fate  of  being 
submerged  in  the  sea  of  huts  clustering  thickly 
around ; whilst,  abundant  on  the  ground,  broken 
stone  monuments  watch  the  years  pass  by  with 
listless  unconcern  which  comes  of  extreme  neglect. 

A score  of  miles  to  the  west  of  Fusan  lies 
the  peerless  harbour  of  Masampo,  one  of  the  great 
Russo-Japanese  questions,  temporarily  but  not  really 
solved  before  the  war.  Masampo  was  the  necessary 
complement  to  Port  Arthur,  just  as  the  impregnable 
fortress  played  the  same  part  to  Vladivostock. 
With  Vladivostock  alone  in  her  grasp,  Russia  had 
only  dipped  the  claws  of  her  great  paws  into  the 
element  which  she  has  so  long  wooed  in  vain  — the 
sea.  When  Port  Arthur  was  acquired,  one  paw 
was  well  in  the  water;  but  without  another  strong 
place  nearer  her  Pacific  province,  it  was  impossible 
for  her  to  balance  herself  on  the  edge  of  the  sea 
without  falling  helplessly  in.  Masampo,  after  end- 
less intrigue,  in  which  Monsieur  Pavlow,  crowned 
with  the  laurels  of  the  Port  Arthur  lease,  over- 
exerted himself,  and  made  the  Japanese  too  sus- 


XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


495 


picious  for  success  to  be  possible,  was  formally 
opened  to  trade  in  1899,  and  it  was  seemingly  use- 
less for  Russian  men-of-war  and  vessels  of  the 
Volunteer  Fleet  to  nibble  at  it  any  longer.  But 
the  Russians  never  quite  abandoned  their  hopes, 
and  had  the  1903-1904  Alexeieff  negotiations  been 
successful,  there  is  no  doubt  that  one  fine  day  an 
enormous  Russian  squadron  would  have  appeared 
off  the  end  of  the  Korean  peninsula,  sent  a landing 
party  ashore,  hoisted  the  northern  tricolour,  and 
with  a nominal  lease  from  the  Korean  puppet- 
Emperor  in  their  pockets,  defied  Japan,  as  they 
were  willing  to  defy  her  until  retribution  overtook 
them.  Up  to  the  very  moment  the  first  shot  was 
fired  the  Russians  were  busily  intriguing  on  this 
heel  of  the  Korean  boot.  Fusan  boasted  of  a 
Russian  Consul  in  the  old  days;  the  Russian  Consul 
was  linked  with  Port  Arthur  on  one  side  and 
Vladivostock  on  the  other  by  the  constantly  passing 
steamers  of  the  Volunteer  and  Chinese  Eastern 
Railway  fleets.  And  because  these  were  not  suffi- 
cient to  keep  watch  and  report  what  was  going  on, 
the  mosquito  whaling-fleet  of  Norwegian-Russian 
vessels,  which  made  Nagasaki  their  headquarters, 
formed  a species  of  auxiliary  intelligence  corps  and 
kept  inconveniently  crawling  into  every  bay  and 
inlet  along  the  indented  Korean  coast  to  see  that 
the  Japanese  were  not  stealing  a march  on  their 
rivals.  And  yet  with  all  this  wonderful  spying  and 
counter-spying,  the  6th  of  February  found  the 
Russians  here  in  the  middle  of  the  greatest  danger- 


496 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


CHAP. 


zone,  utterly  surprised  and  unprepared,  as  will  be 
shown  later  — and  under  the  sharp  and  accurate 
blows  of  a well-prepared  Japan,  the  dreams  of  a 
foothold  in  Southern  Korea  have  vanished  never  to 
return. 

Meanwhile  Japan  has  not  let  the  grass  grow 
under  her  feet  during  1904  — at  least  here  in  Southern 
Korea.  Masampo  is  now  practically  a hermetically 
sealed  port  as  far  as  the  general  public  is  concerned. 
It  was  never  a commercial  port  in  any  sense  of  the 
word,  and  its  opening  in  1899  to  foreign  trade  was 
merely  a diplomatic  move  forced  on  the  Korean 
Government  to  stay  the  ceaseless  Pavlow  intrigues. 
Nobody  knows  exactly  what  the  Japanese  are  doing 
at  Masampo,  but  it  is  reported  that  fortifying  has 
been  going  on  steadily  and  methodically  for  nine 
months,  and  that  in  a year  Masampo  can  be  made 
really  impregnable.  It  has  been  said  that  Port 
Arthur  was  equal  to  seven  Sebastopols  and  two 
Gibraltars.  Well,  then,  with  but  little  work,  com- 
paratively speaking,  Masampo  can  be  converted 
into  a fortress  and  land-locked  naval  base  equal  to 
two  or  three  Port  Arthurs.  It  has  been  my  privi- 
lege to  see  Masampo  before  its  sealing,  and  it  may 
be  safely  said  that  it  is  probably  the  strongest  natural 
fortress  and  the  most  perfect  naval  base  in  the  entire 
world.  There  is  deep  blue  water  all  over  the 
harbour  in  which  a Japanese  naval  officer  has  cal- 
culated hundreds  of  war  vessels  might  lie,  and  even 
manoeuvre  with  perfect  safety.  The  entrances 
are  so  perfect  and  so  masked ; and  they  are 


XX 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


497 


commanded  by  the  towering  heights  which  look 
down  on  the  Korean  Straits,  so  that  no  guns 
could  bombard  a beleaguered  fleet  from  out  at  sea 
as  Togo  has  repeatedly  done  at  Port  Arthur. 
Inland,  mountain  range  succeeds  mountain  range, 
mile  after  mile,  making  an  approach  from  the 
land  side  sheer  annihilation.  Between  Port 
Arthur  and  Masampo  there  is  no  comparison 
possible.  The  first  is  full  of  faults,  whilst  the 
second  is  peerless  and  flawless,  and  intrenched  here 
a Japanese  garrison  could  defy  the  entire  world  for 
years.  It  is  easy  to  understand  the  Russian  in- 
trigue. 

The  moral  is  clear.  The  great  Far  Eastern  war 
has  given  birth  to  a second  Dardanelles  through 
which  no  hostile  Russian  or  other  fleet  will  ever  be 
allowed  to  pass  by  the  Japanese  — except  one. 
With  Sasebo  and  the  fortified  Japanese  coast  on 
one  side,  and  the  big  island  of  Tsushima  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  channel,  the  Korean  Straits,  although 
one  hundred  miles  broad,  become  a Japanese  gateway 
almost  as  safe  and  as  secure  (with  the  greatly  enlarged 
post-bellum  fleet  which  will  be  seen)  as  the  Straits 
of  Shimonoseki  themselves.  With  Fusan  an  im- 
portant commercial  port,  boasting  of  perhaps  thirty 
or  forty  thousand  Japanese  inhabitants,  and  the 
Pacific  Railway  terminus  for  the  continent  of  Asia, 
as  it  will  be  when  the  Fusan-Seoul-Wiju  Railway 
is  carried  across  Southern  Manchuria  to  Liaoyang; 
with  a fast  flowing  tide  of  passengers  and  trade 
passing  across  the  Korean  Straits,  and  with  Masampo 

VOL.  I — 2 K 


498 


THE  HEEL  OF  THE  KOREAN  BOOT 


cn.  XX 


ceded  to  Japan  and  standing  alert  like  an  armed 
sentinel,  the  problem  of  the  heel  of  the  Korean 
boot  which  has  been  perplexing  diplomats  for  long 
years  past  will  be  definitely  solved.  No  matter 
what  happens  elsewhere,  Japan  will  now  be  sure  that 
the  arrow  which  has  pointed  so  long  at  her  heart 
has  its  barb  removed  and  hurled  away,  and  that  the 
bow  which  was  to  discharge  this  venomous  dart  is 
damaged  beyond  hope  of  repair. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 

Two  or  three  miles  to  the  east  of  Fusan  is  the 
railway  terminus.  As  is  the  case  with  all  Far 
Eastern  railways  in  their  earlier  stages,  it  is  you 
who  have  to  accommodate  the  railway  by  searching 
it  out  along  weary  roads,  and  not  the  railway  which 
comes  to  you.  Later  on,  when  trade  and  traffic 
justify  it,  the  railway  may  condescend  to  push  its 
stations  a little  nearer  to  where  they  are  wanted; 
but  in  the  initial  stages  a Russian-like  indifference 
to  your  comfort  is  shown,  and  you  must  trudge 
through  dust  and  dirt  to  the  proud  iron-horse. 

The  Seoul-Fusan  Railway  Company,  officially 
known  as  the  Keifu  Railway,  has  the  head  office 
of  its  southern  section  at  the  Fusan  terminus  in  a 
white  European  building,  curiously  unlike  the  rest 
of  Fusan.  You  are  received  by  a manager  in  a 
black  coat,  who  belongs  to  another  world,  and  does 
not  identify  himself  with  the  town,  the  locality,  its 
people,  or  its  aspirations.  He  is  there  for  a specific 
object,  and  his  own  world  is  too  crowded  for  any 
time  to  be  left  to  look  at  any  others.  It  is  the  same 


499 


500 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


with  all  railway  companies  all  over  the  new  Far 
East : a syndicate  is  formed,  a big  concession  is 
obtained,  and  then  men  come  in  black  coats  from 
one  of  the  chief  cities  of  the  world.  Half  get  into 
khaki  coats  and  push  up-country  with  the  rail 
advance,  whilst  the  staff  merely  remain  in  their 
black  clothes,  run  up  hasty  offices  at  the  termini, 
remain  for  a space  working  frantically  in  a life  apart 
from  the  ordinary  life  of  the  place,  and  then,  as  soon 
as  the  construction  is  completed,  all  repack  their 
portmanteaus  and  bags  and  disappear  in  their  sober 
clothes : flitting  phantoms  that  have  impressed  an 
image  of  the  West  indelibly  on  a tiny  portion  of  the 
East  — phantoms  knowing  as  little  of  the  country  when 
they  leave  as  when  they  came,  simply  because  the 
business  of  fitting  iron  rails  neatly  together  over  hill, 
river,  and  dale  is  very  arduous,  and  leaves  no  time 
to  look  at  the  landscape. 

The  Japanese  manager  of  the  southern  section 
was  as  other  men  engaged  in  this  business  — very 
busy,  more  polite  than  his  European  prototypes,  and 
eternally  worried  over  the  slow  progress  of  the  con- 
struction parties.  But  in  spite  of  this  his  answers 
were  very  satisfactory.  Yes,  I could  go  forward  at 
once,  to-morrow  at  seven  in  the  morning  if  I liked, 
and  here  was  my  travelling  schedule ; fifty  miles 
by  regular  passenger  train,  thirty  by  ballast  train, 
and  76*8  by  construction  train.  Then  a halt  and 
18*6  miles  over  a break  on  pony-back;  then  more 
weary  miles  by  construction,  ballast,  and  regular 
trains  until  the  Korean  capital  would  heave  in  sight 


Fusan  IIakhour. 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


501 


on  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day  at  mile  274.5.  It 
was  wonderfully  precise  and  much  better  than  the 
Hankow- Peking  Belgian  road,  where  they  wave 
their  arms  over  their  heads  and  tell  you,  Mon  Dieu ! 
they  have  no  idea  when,  where,  or  how  you  can  go 
forward,  except  perhaps  by  trolley.  The  last,  which 
sounds  delightful,  is  more  exhausting  on  close  ac- 
quaintance than  ballast  train  riding,  for  the  half- 
naked  coolies  soon  pant  and  breathe  behind  your 
ears  like  stricken  exhaust-valves,  and  you  know  that 
human  power  is  very  limited. 

At  seven  in  the  morning  I was  once  more  at  the 
Fusan  station.  The  sun  had  risen  more  splendid 
than  I had  seen  him  for  many  weeks.  It  was  the 
sun  of  Manchuria  — the  big,  strong,  clean  sun  with 
no  sins  and  no  regrets,  which  brings  victories  to  the 
righteous,  and  in  its  bright  rays  the  water  and 
mountains  around  laughed  back  with  a freedom 
which  was  infectious.  Behind  us  lay  Fusan  har- 
bour, with  its  placid  waters  and  rugged  heights,  and 
steaming  or  sailing  out  to  sea  little  steamers  and 
small  fishing  craft  left  gleaming  wakes  behind  them 
sparkling  in  the  sun.  About  the  station,  Korean 
gentlemen-farmers  — never  was  a term  better  de- 
served — in  their  eminently  respectable  top-hats  were 
in  great  numbers,  presumably  travelling  back  from 
clubland  to  less  appropriate  abodes,  each  one  armed 
with  formidable  bundles,  which  ill-became  their 
stately  appearance.  The  nickel-made  purchases 
were  also  travelling  back. 

Luck,  too,  favoured  me  from  the  start.  The  chief 


502 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


engineer  of  the  southern  section  was  leaving  by  the 
same  train  to  meet  the  chief  engineer  of  the  northern 
section  with  mathematical  precision  at  mile  136-25, 
which  is  half-way,  presumably,  calculated  to  six  places 
of  decimals.  At  five  o’clock  on  the  evening  of  the 
second  day,  he  informed  me,  each  section  engineer 
would  appear  with  his  staff  at  the  half-way  house, 
mounted  on  Korean  ponies.  They  would  dismount, 
take  hot  baths,  settle  the  exact  hour  the  last  spikes  were 
to  be  driven,  sleep,  then  return  to  their  respective  ter- 
mini and  wait  for  the  telegraph  to  tick  back  the  news  of 
the  meeting  of  the  rails  at  the  front.  Then  each  in 
turn  would  telegraph  the  news  to  the  Tokyo  head- 
office  in  such  a manner  that  their  telegrams  would 
arrive  simultaneously,  and  the  Seoul-Fusan  Railway 
would  be  officially  complete.  Perhaps  — here  the 
chief  engineer  smiled  deprecatingly,  and  became 
almost  bashful  — this  would  happen  on  the  3rd  of 
November,  which  is  the  Emperor’s  birthday,  and 
very  lucky,  but  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  know 
just  now.  Japan  is  well  served  by  her  sons  even 
in  the  small  things  which  really  mean  so  much 
though  they  are  small. 

Meanwhile,  the  respectable  gentlemen-farmers  had 
apparently  settled  all  outstanding  disputes  for  the 
time  being  as  to  the  purchasing  value  of  nickels,  and 
had  taken  their  places  noisily  in  the  train.  A last  re- 
maining individual,  who  was  apparently  testing  the 
forbearance  and  good  nature  of  the  locomotive  by 
pushing  his  head  and  his  arms  under  the  wheels  whilst 
the  driver  was  pulling  the  levers,  was  rescued  at  the 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


503 


eleventh  hour,  and  led  away  protesting  that  he  did 
not  yet  fully  understand  the  mechanism.  The 
Korean  is  indeed  a child  of  nature,  and  beside  him 
the  most  ignorant  Chinaman  is  a Solomon  amongst 
men.  The  engine,  a powerful  Baldwin,  shrieked, 
we  panted,  quicker  and  quicker,  and  Fusan  faded 
behind  us. 

It  required  but  little  observation  to  see  the  nature 
of  the  difficulties  which  the  Japanese  engineers  have 
had  to  overcome  in  building  the  Korean  Grand 
Trunk  line.  It  is  all  grading  work,  demanding 
careful  treatment,  but  not  presenting  any  real  en- 
gineering difficulty.  From  the  moment  you  leave 
the  Fusan  terminus  to  the  moment  you  pull  up  at 
night  your  locomotive  is  either  panting  up  steep 
inclines  or  sliding  easily  round  beautiful  serpent-like 
curves  on  a down-grade.  Hills  and  mountains  sur- 
round you  on  all  sides,  sometimes  towering  high 

above  you  in  lofty  peaks  of  savage  aspect,  some- 
times mere  shoulders  of  rock  that  hunch  them- 
selves angrily  along  the  path  of  the  iron  horse. 

There  is  not  an  inch  of  plain  to  be  seen.  On  the 
southern  section  of  the  railway  there  are  no  great 
feats,  excepting  a four-thousand-foot  tunnel,  which 
is  being  pierced  through  granite  rock  at  a phenome- 
nal rate ; but  in  spite  of  this  there  has  been  a 
great  opportunity  for  neat  and  careful  work.  And 
splendidly  have  the  Japanese  engineers  attended  to 
their  business.  From  Fusan  to  rail-head  the  work  is 
perfect,  equalling,  if  it  does  not  exceed,  the  excellence 
of  the  newly  constructed  German  Shantung  line. 


504 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  R.-UL 


CHAP. 


The  stations  succeed  one  another  with  great  ra- 
pidity, the  average  distance  along  the  entire  line  which 
separates  them  being  only  five  and  a half  miles. 
For  many  miles  north  of  Fusan  the  station-build- 
ings are  all  completed,  and  are  exact  replicas  of  the 
ordinary  station  in  Japan.  At  each  a uniformed 
Japanese  station-master  is  already  in  command; 
and  under  him  Koreans  in  half-Japanese  costume, 
but  with  their  top-knots  still  intact,  are  being  trained 
to  do  the  rough  work.  So  far,  however,  all  duties 
which  demand  intelligence  and  watchfulness  are  car- 
ried out  by  Japanese  employh,  but  in  time  it  is 
hoped  that  the  natives  will  be  able  to  take  over 
much  of  the  work,  which  is  now  paid  for  at  rates 
greatly  in  excess  of  those  obtaining  in  Japan. 
Already  in  Fusan  I had  noticed  one  thing  which 
one  might  have  sought  in  vain  a few  years  ago : 
the  success  with  which  young  Korean  boys 
were  being  trained  by  Japanese  shopkeepers  and 
traders,  and  the  extraordinary  change  which  close 
contact  with  wide-awake  Japanese  has  made  in 
their  appearance,  intelligence,  and  quickness.  The 
Japanese  will  never  be  able  to  accomplish  much 
with  the  present  generation  of  grown-up  Koreans, 
but  if  the  youth  of  the  country  are  taken  properly  in 
hand  and  carefully  trained,  most  surprising  results 
may  be  seen. 

Meanwhile,  steaming  rapidly  over  a splendid  rock- 
bed,  wx  at  last  debouched  into  the  valley  of  the 
Xak-tung,  and  for  a number  of  miles  travelled 
almost  on  the  edge  of  this  beautiful  river,  which 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


505 


winds  itself  entrancingly  through  cool  mountain 
gorges,  stately  and  serene  as  no  Chinese  waters 
could  be.  Who  could  do  justice  to  the  beauty  of 
Korean  rivers?  With  eyes  tired  by  the  everlasting 
muddiness  of  Chinese  waters  and  the  swirling  rapids 
of  Japanese  streams  it  is  a veritable  feast  of  the 
senses  to  look  until  you  can  look  no  more  on  the 
beautiful  calm  and  limpid  waters  of  Korea.  The 
sun  above  you  shines  hotly  and  throws  everything 
into  strong  relief;  the  mountains  and  hills  in  the 
dazzlingly  clear  atmosphere  seem  to  push  so  near 
you  that  you  can  almost  stroke  their^  rugged  faces 
kindly  with  your  hands.  A few  white-clad  Koreans 
wander  about  to  complete  the  landscape;  and  then 
below  you  a blue  river  flows  — not  of  a blue  which 
is  an  imitation  blue,  but  a divine  sky-blue  which 
comes  because  the  heavens  are  reflected  in  the 
waters,  and  because  the  polished  stone-bed  of  the 
river  is  as  clean  as  the  robes  of  a vestal  virgin. 
Occasionally  a brown  Korean  boat  with  picturesque 
white  sails  floats  down  the  waters  laden  with  rice; 
the  boatmen,  spying  friendly  people  on  the  banks, 
chant  their  greetings  in  the  high-pitched  voices 
of  the  natives  of  India,  and  all,  draped  in  their  flow- 
ing white,  gesticulate  gravely  to  one  another  with 
shy  laughter  as  our  train  rushes  by.  . . . 

In  these  calm  and  peaceful  surroundings  even  our 
Baldwin  engine,  symbol  of  a land  of  hustle  and 
hurry,  became  sedate  and  deliberate,  and  puff,  puff, 
steadily  and  solemnly  as  it  climbed  ever  onward, 
informed  the  spirits  of  the  rivers  ^nd  the  mountains 


5o6 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


that  its  progress  would  in  no  wise  disturb  them. 
The  Japanese  chief  engineer  and  his  men  surveyed 
the  scene  with  the  half-closed  eyes  of  the  Eastern 
artist  who  loves  delicate  shading,  as  no  other  man 
loves;  for  to  look  on  the  blue  Nak-tung  in  the 
golden-yellow  sunshine  is  to  be  recompensed  for 
many  days’  exile  from  beautiful  Japan.  Thus  pro- 
gressing, the  hours  passed  very  fast.  Korean  pas- 
sengers mounted  and  dismounted,  but  it  could  be 
easily  seen  that  the  great  passenger  traffic  along  the 
southern  section  will  be  in  the  future  rather  between 
up-country  stations  and  the  terminus,  Fusan,  than  in 
shorter  stretches;  for  many  years  must  elapse  before 
the  Korean  becomes  accustomed  to  the  idea  that  it 
is  cheaper  and  quicker  to  travel  between  inland 
points  by  rail'  instead  of  by  pony  or  on  foot.  By 
noon  ,we  reached  the  limit  of  the  track  opened  to 
regular  traffic,  and,  received  by  a bowing  station- 
master  and  his  wife,  we  fared  famously  on  river 
trout,  Sapporo  black  beer,  and  bowls  of  soup  and  rice. 

‘‘Now,  construction  and  ballast  trains,”  said  the  chief 
engineer,  laconically.  We  stowed  our  traps  on  the 
top  of  the  rails  that  bore  the  mystic  word  Carnegie, 
proclaiming  that  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation 
is  profiting  much  by  Korean  railway  building;  and, 
shrouding  ourselves  in  the  inevitable  red  blanket  of 
Japan,  the  motley  expedition  of  engineers,  small 
traders,  tea-house  girls,  and  railroad  men  prepared 
to  face  the  wind  which  cuts  so  viciously  when  nothing 
fends  it  from  one. 

The  river  had  been  by  now  left  far  to  the  west  of 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


507 


US,  and  the  country  had  become  more  and  more 
rugged.  Cultivation,  which  had  been  scant  even  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Fusan,  became  less  and  less 
noticeable;  and  only  in  the  bottom  of  tiny  valleys 
could  small  collections  of  toadstool  huts  be  seen, 
surrounded  by  patches  of  paddy-fields.  Occasionally, 
goatherds  leading  diminutive  flocks  detached  them- 
selves from  the  brown  background  and  moved  for- 
ward, vague  specks  on  the  vast  expanse  of  hilly 
country  that  surrounded  them;  but  apart  from  these 
there  was  not  a soul  to  be  seen.  It  is  hard  to  see 
how  much  development  can  be  made  in  the  midst 
of  such  surroundings,  even  though  the  Japanese 
Government  has  the  best  will  in  the  world.  By 
carrying  water  higher  up  the  slopes  of  hills,  irriga- 
tion may  make  a little  more  rice-land ; but  it  is 
certain  that  no  Japanese  for  many  years  to  come 
will  be  willing  to  exile  themselves  to  such  triste  and 
lonely  neighbourhoods.  A Japanese  trader,  spying 
out  the  land,  whom  I had  not  suspected  of  such 
accomplishments,  turned  to  me  and  said  in  the 
English  of  the  commercial  schools,  “It  is  with 
great  difficulty  that  commerce  and  industry  can 
flourish  here,”  in  which  obvious  pronouncement  I 
immediately  concurred.  The  educated  Japanese  is 
not  going  to  be  led  away  by  the  opinion  which  so 
many  who  do  not  know  the  land  of  Korea  express: 
that  the  whole  country  must  be  immediately 
colonised.  The  Japanese  will  gravitate  naturally 
first  to  the  towns  and  villages,  and  only  later  on 
may  they  be  looked  for  in  the  country  districts. 


5o8 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


But  there  was  little  time  for  discussion  or  reflection. 
Ahead,  a formidable  mountain  range  reared  itself 
across  our  path.  There  was  no  narrow  valley  to  the 
right  or  left  for  us  to  slip  through  as  we  had  been 
doing  all  day  long  in  the  face  of  such  difficulties. 
What  would  we  do?  “Tunnel,’’  grunted  a Japanese 
shift-boss  in  the  picturesque  character-splashed  coat 
of  his  country,  proud  of  his  one  word  of  English; 
“Switchback,  switchback,”  called  another.  It  was 
even  so.  We  drew  up  at  the  bottom,  where  a large 
temporary  encampment  of  engineers,  skilled  labourers, 
and  coolies  was  scattered  irregularly  over  the  ground, 
and  jumped  down,  pleased  of  an  opportunity  to 
limber  up  our  stiffened  limbs.  Smoke  was  rising 
from  brick-kilns  and  a huckster’s  lean-to;  the  clang 
of  hammer  and  anvil  resounded  sharply  in  the  still 
air  — it  was  the  big  four-thousand-foot  tunnel  — the 
Sho-ken  tunnel,  on  which  work  was  being  pushed 
forward  day  and  night. 

We  waited  some  time  whilst  the  chief  engineer 
made  a hurried  inspection  and  the  train  was  being 
split  in  two.  Small  construction-engines  busily 
panted  themselves  to  death,  sorting  and  re-sorting 
the  heavily  loaded  trucks  we  had  brought  up,  until 
at  last  a fine  residuum  of  steel  rails  was  all  that  was 
left.  A red  and  white  tunnel-mouth,  unsullied 
as  yet  by  smoke,  showed  where  the  permanent 
way  would  go ; but  right  up  the  steep  slope 
of  the  mountain  a brown  snake  of  embank- 
ment curved  and  recurved  until  it  was  lost  at 
the  summit.  It  was  the  famous  switchback,  of 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


509 


which  the  whole  Seoul-Fusan  Railway  staff  is  so 
proud. 

Presently  we  were  off,  an  engine  in  front  of  us 
and  another  behind,  and  with  a flying  start  on  the 
level  we  sped  up.  It  was  beautifully  calculated,  for 
just  as  our  speed  was  fast  sinking  to  zero  and  the 
diminutive  Baldwins  were  breaking  their  iron  lungs 
in  the  weight-lifting  struggle  we  fetched  No.  i 
switch  and  slid  easily  round  on  a shunt-track.  Then 
a Japanese  switchman  ran  out  of  a wooden  box,  put 
the  switchboard  over,  waved  a green  flag  at  us,  and 
with  another  tremendous  full-speed  start  we  made 
our  way  ever  higher  along  a half-moon  of  iron  rails. 
Three  times  we  repeated  the  operation,  and  then,  lo 
and  behold ! we  were  on  top  of  the  mountain,  a 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea-level. 

What  a view  lay  before  us!  Korea  was  spread 
out  like  a vast  contour  map,  with  hills  and  mountains 
undulating  away  in  every  direction,  a desolate,  barren 
hill-land  with  the  sparkle  of  flowing  water  in  many 
places,  but  hardly  a tree,  excepting  a few  stunted 
pines  and  a little  scrub-oak.  Up  the  face  of  the 
mountain  we  had  ascended,  the  switchbacks  slid 
down  in  beautifully  rounded  curves  that  looked  like 
an  unauthorised  phantasy  of  a giant  letter  S;  on  the 
other  side,  down  which  we  were  already  gliding  with 
Westinghouse  brakes  straining  at  our  too  willing 
wheels,  there  were  no  less  than  five  switches,  each 
one  bringing  us  a few  hundred  feet  nearer  the  valley, 
and  each  controlled  by  a blue-trousered,  check-shirted 
Japanese. 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


510 


At  the  bottom  another  large  encampment  with 
dozens  of  Japanese  and  many  hundreds  of  Koreans 
in  much-soiled  clothes  working  trollies  and  lorries, 
and  mightily  busy  over  the  tunnelling  work,  which 
must  be  quickly  completed  at  all  cost.  Before  the 
middle  of  1905  the  entire  permanent  way  will  be  in 
perfect  order,  a record  for  Japanese  engineers,  seeing 
that  the  work  has  only  been  seriously  taken  in  hand 
since  March  of  1904. 

Thus,  dust  and  soot  covered,  we  accomplished 
twelve  miles  more,  and  at  half-past  four  drew  up  at 
the  big  station  of  Taiku,  eighty  miles  from  Fusan 
and  a third  of  the  way  from  Seoul.  It  had  been  a 
long  day. 

Already  Taiku  station,  which  marks  the  end  of 
the  very  mountainous  country  and  the  opening  out 
into  miniature  valleys,  has  assumed  an  important 
look,  and  a great  deal  of  building  has  gone  on. 
Engine-sheds  and  repair-shops,  station  buildings  and 
quarters,  for.  the  railway  staff,  together  with  a number 
of  miscellaneous  buildings  in  the  Japanese  style, 
were  spread  out  irregularly  over  a large  tract  of 
ground,  and  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  Fusan 
there  were  some  evidences  of  a Japanese  population 
unconnected  with  the  railway.  We  were  conducted 
to  a set  of  Japanese  guest-rooms,  clean  and  spotless 
as  only  new  buildings  of  wood  fitted  with  such  light 
things  as  straw-mats  and  paper-clad  doors  can  be, 
and  after  a boiling  Japanese  bath  we  set  out  to 
explore  the  city  behind  us. 

Taiku  is  one  of  the  half  dozen  Korean  towns 


A Street  in  Japanese  Fusan. 


The  Town  of  Taiku. 


iFacepage  510,  Vol.  /. 


XXI  FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL  51 1 

which  are  held  to  justify  the  name  of  city.  It  is 
surrounded  by  a solid  city-wall,  still  in  a state  of 
good  preservation  and  possessing  four  gates  of 
respectable  dimensions  crowned  by  miniature  gate- 
houses. Once  inside  the  walls,  however,  you  are 
disappointed.  Mean  streets  of  toadstool  huts  succeed 
one  another  with  endless  monotony  — huts  crowded 
with  many  people  all  talking  volubly,  who  stop 
suddenly  after  the  Fusan  manner  and  remain  very 
still,  exactly  like  rabbits,  directly  they  catch  sight  of 
the  foreigner.  A young  assistant  engineer  fresh 
from  the  Tokyo  schools  had  been  told  off  as  guide, 
and  led  us  after  a quarter  of  an  hour’s  walk,  with  a 
certain  grim  sarcasm,  to  the  Korean  city  governor’s 
residence,  as  an  example  of  what  Japan  was  going 
to  reform.  The  residence  was  simply  an  old- 
fashioned  Chinese  Yamen  dating  from  the  days  of 
long  ago,  and  there  was  absolutely  nothing  to  see 
but  dilapidation  and  decay.  In  the  courtyards  the 
governor’s  servants  and  retainers  were  amusing 
themselves  in  a way  which  would  have  brought 
contempt  on  the  face  of  a Bushman.  A crowd  of 
them,  in  the  coloured  coats  of  official  servants,  took 
it  in  turns  to  wave  a long  wooden  stave  in  the  air, 
and  then,  feigning  to  bring  it  down  as  hard  as  they 
could  on  the  ground,  suddenly  stopped  the  blow 
just  before  it  reached  term  firma.  It  was  apparently 
immensely  amusing  from  the  Korean  official  servant’s 
point  of  view,  for  everyone  laughed  with  the  colour- 
less Korean  laughter  the  whole  time.  Such  pas- 
times meriting  encouragement,  we  selected  the  most 


512 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


foolish-looking  and  tried  to  introduce  a variety  of 
the  game,  which  would  make  it  as  bridge  is  to  whist. 
Placing  the  not  unwilling  Korean  head  on  the 
ground  we  invited  the  others  to  continue,  and  soon 
we  were  able  to  continue  our  stroll  with  the  satisfied 
feeling  which  only  comes  to  those  who  have  success- 
fully created  discord  in  a happy  if  foolish  family. 

The  city  walls,  the  city  gates,  the  governor’s  Yamen, 
and  a broken-down  temple  which  we  afterwards 
found,  all  owe  their  existence  to  the  former  Chinese 
regime.  The  walls  are  many  hundreds  of  years  old; 
the  buildings  are  more  modem,  but  all  are  pure 
Chinese  and  have  nothing  of  present-day  Korea 
about  them. 

A few  yards  farther  on  we  came  on  barracks 
where  the  local  Korean  garrison  was  cooped.  The 
garrison  was  an  integral  part  of  the  modem  Korean 
army  which  has  pretended  to  be  so  indignant  about 
the  Japanese  invasion.  It  therefore  merited  inspec- 
tion. But  on  our  attempting  to  enter  the  barracks, 
the  Korean  sentry  presented  his  bayonet  at  our 
chests,  and  as  he  appeared  to  be  overpowered  by 
the  manoeuvring  of  a heavy  rifle,  discretion  was 
the  better  part  of  valour.  We  asked  for  the  local 
general,  and  it  was  not  until  the  latter  gentleman 
had  been  sought  out  that  we  were  permitted  to 
enter. 

The  general  had  apparently  been  roused  from 
a pleasant  siesta,  and  was  stmggling  moodily  with 
his  official  trousers.  The  process  must  have  been  a 
painful  one,  for  he  abandoned  it  as  soon  as  he 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


513 


caught  sight  of  us,  and  with  a shrug  of  his 
shoulders  ordered  his  overcoat  instead.  With  this 
sign  of  rank  thrown  over  him  he  greeted  us 
cordially  enough  in  his  stockinged  feet  from  the 
top  of  a little  verandah.  He  seemed  a pleasant 
enough  man  on  whom  the  unkind  fates  had  thrust 
this  soldiering  business  for  no  special  reason,  and, 
smiling  at  us  benignly,  waved  his  hands  about 
him  invitingly  for  a space.  So  we  proceeded  to 
inspect. 

The  Korean  Barrack  Act  — if  any  such  enactment 
was  passed  when  the  wondrous  Korean  modern 
army  sprang  into  existence  — must  have  been  one 
of  the  most  economical  laws  ever  framed.  From 
a hasty  investigation  the  modus  operandi  of  giving 
effect  to  its  provisions  must  have  been  as  follows. 
A search  was  made  round  each  city  to  discover 
where  the  majority  of  inns  and  pony-stables  lay.  As 
soon  as  this  was  discovered  the  owners  were  expro- 
priated, all  the  inns  and  surrounding  buildings 
excepting  the  stables  torn  down,  and  then,  using  the 
materials  thus  acquired,  the  pony  stalls  were  joined 
up  so  as  to  form  continuous  lines.  Finally,  the 
whole  was  surrounded  with  a compound  wall;  and, 
adding  a few  pitch-forks  of  dirt,  your  barracks  were 
complete,  and  not  only  redolent  with  anti-consump- 
tion smells,  but  blessed  with  a magnificent  drill- 
ground  in  the  centre.  Korea  is  indeed  a delightful 
country. 

It  would  also  appear  that  so  long  as  the  Korean 
soldier  can  drill,  he  is  entirely  happy.  His  pay  may 

VOL.  I — 2 L 


514 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


be  outstanding  for  years,  his  stomach  may  be  rather 
empty,  but  concede  to  him  the  privilege  of  double 
and  even  treble  drills,  and  all  the  other  ills  to  which 
his  flesh  is  heir  are  borne  by  him  without  a murmur. 
Here  in  desolate  Taiku,  a “lost’’  inland  town  of 
Korea,  they  were  drilling  and  redrilling  although 
the  night  was  coming  on,  and  they  had  been  at 
it  since  early  morn.  Clad  in  uniforms  which 
reminded  one  oddly  of  the  Japanese,  they  were 
marching,  squad-firing,  and  preparing  for  every 
manner  of  attack,  whilst  a strident  bugling  echoed 
over  the  town.  Poor  Korean  people,  whose  fate  at 
last  appears  to  be  sealed,  your  soldiery,  if  they  had 
but  drilled  in  this  way  years  ago  in  far  greater 
numbers,  might  have  prevented  all  the  tragedies  of 
the  last  decade ! 

Passing  out,  we  made  our  way  back  through  the 
town,  and  crossed  on  the  road  numbers  of  Japanese 
soldiers  returning  to  camp  outside  the  city.  It  is 
startling  to  see  the  similarity  between  the  soldiery  of 
the  conquerors  and  the  conquered  — in  the  distance 
they  appear  much  alike ; but  whilst  the  Korean, 
chosen  from  the  most  unsuitable  class,  is  tall  and 
weak-looking,  the  Japanese  is  stocky  and  very 
heavily  built,  and  his  physique  appears  to  improve 
daily  with  military  discipline  and  the  big  rations  he 
receives. 

The  Japanese  quarter  of  Taiku,  to  which  we  now 
made  our  way,  is  not  a very  inspiring  sight.  There 
are  supposed  to  be  700  or  800  immigrants  here,  but 
the  number  is  constantly  diminishing,  and  until 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


515 


substantial  enterprises  are  started,  backed  by 
capitalists,  these  first-comers  will  have  a hard  time. 
In  the  summer  it  appears  that  the  town  of  Taiku 
apparently  had  something  in  the  nature  of  a boom 
when  the  rails  reached  thus  far  north.  Then  as 
many  as  two  or  three  thousand  Japanese  poured  into 
the  place  to  see  what  was  to  be  done  in  the  way  of 
colonising.  But  a few  weeks  convinced  all  but  the 
most  hardy  and  resolute  that  there  was  no  money  to 
be  made  for  the  time  being,  and  so  the  stream 
flowed  back  again  to  Fusan  or  farther  north.  The 
few  hundred  who  remain  have  rented  Korean  huts 
and  adapted  them  to  Japanese  use  as  best  they  can 
by  a process  of  cleaning  and  repapering.  This  small 
colony,  which  may  be  taken  as  representative  of 
what  is  going  on  in  many  small  towns  all  over 
Korea  at  the  present  moment,  is  composed  of  a 
few  tailors,  rice-dealers,  pastry-cooks,  piece-goods 
dealers,  and  a handful  of  others  who  sell  very  cheap 
general  commodities ; but  all  told  us  they  were 
making  slow  headway.  A little  thing  caught  my 
attention  as  showing  the  Japanese  spirit  and  love 
of  country  which  is  so  remarkable  in  a Far  Eastern 
people.  A pastry-cook,  having  finished  the  day’s 
work,  had  gathered  all  the  Japanese  children  and 
babies  of  the  neighbourhood  around  him  in  his  poor 
little  shop,  and,  book  in  hand,  was  teaching  them  all 
to  sing  the  national  songs.  Little  boys  and  little 
girls  made  as  much  noise  as  their  baby-lungs  would 
allow ; and  in  the  dusk,  with  a single  flickering 
candle  lighting  them,  they  made  a curious  picture, 


5i6  from  FUSAN  to  SEOUL  BY  RAIL  chap. 

eloquent  of  the  future  and  of  the  spirit  of  the 
advance-guard  now  sweeping  into  Korea. 

We  had  now  not  much  time  to  tarry,  for  night  was 
fast  coming  on.  Outside  the  city  limits  Roman 
Catholic  and  Protestant  churches  and  buildings 
stood  together  on  well-raised  ground.  The  French 
and  American  missionaries,  who  thrive  exceedingly 
in  Korea,  have  certainly  chosen  the  best  sites  in  this 
neighbourhood,  as  indeed  they  always  do,  and  from 
their  chapels  the  country  about  Taiku  is  commanded 
for  many  miles  around.  The  American,  being  the 
more  enterprising,  has  bought  and  fenced  off  a whole 
hill- side  with  the  barbed  wire  now  so  a la  mode,  and, 
as  my  little  Japanese  guide  put  it,  “he  is  singularly 
fortunate  in  his  foresight.” 

As  a contrast  to  the  affluent  churches  of  the  West 
we  came  soon  in  the  half-gloom  on  a dilapidated 
temple.  A piece  of  old  matting  spread  out  into  the 
street  gave  notice  to  all  Far  Easters  that  something 
was  going  to  happen.  We  inquired : it  was  nothing 
less  than  the  Governor  and  all  his  suite  coming  to 
pay  their  respects  to  the  manes  of  some  departed 
Emperor  — a ceremony  which  was  certainly  well 
worth  waiting  for.  Whilst  standing  there,  two 
gaily  dressed  Korean  singing-girls  sidled  along 
attired  in  a green  and  mauve  that  caught  the  eye 
immediately  in  the  drab-coloured  streets  with  their 
white  ghosts  of  people.  “Dear  sir,”  lisped  the 
little  attendant  Japanese  in  the  quaint  language  of 
the  business  letter-writer  adapted  to  the  special 
circumstances  of  the  case,  “I  regret  that  these 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


517 


are  women  of  ill-fame;  do  you  reckon  them  more 
beautiful  than  those  of  my  country?”  to  which  I 
answered  a resolute  negative. 

Bang ! went  a distant  gong,  interrupting  un- 
ceremoniously this  unconventional  debate ; bang ! 
sounded  the  gong  nearer  and  nearer,  and  added 
to  this  din  came  a distant  shouting.  The  great 
man  himself  was  appearing.  A long  line  of  official 
servants,  the  very  same  we  had  incited  to  strike 
one  another,  hove  in  sight  marching  in  a disorderly 
double  file.  As  soon  as  they  reached  the  temple 
door  they  halted,  opened  up,  faced  around,  and  down 
the  middle  came  the  Governor  in  his  tiger-skin- 
covered  chair,  borne  by  four  bearers  who  gasped  as 
they  carried  him.  He  was  a bloodless,  soulless, 
and  feeble-looking  personage,  and  appeared  ill  at 
ease  as  soon  as  he  discovered  that  he  was  being 
watched. 

Meanwhile  an  attendant  was  trying  to  clear  the 
temple  courtyard  of  the  Korean  crowd ; but  no 
sooner  had  one  lot  been  driven  away  than  another 
came  piling  in.  In  the  midst  of  this  indecorous 
struggle  the  Governor  stood  helpless,  waiting  for  a 
pathway  to  be  made.  Finally  he  was  able  to  walk 
in,  and,  joined  by  a single  priest,  the  two  men 
advanced  together  to  the  dilapidated  altars.  The 
ceremony  which  followed  was  only  grotesque.  Both 
Governor  and  priest  slow-marched  after  the 
Buddhist  fashion  in  different  directions,  facing 
East,  West,  South,  and  North  (the  Chinese  Tung- 
Hsi-Nan-Pei)  at  regular  intervals  and  calling  loudly 


5i8 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


'‘Kang-hsi.''  I tried  to  discover  the  meaning  of  these 
words  by  inviting  Korean  farmers  and  others  around 
to  write  the  characters  on  the  ground.  But  sucking 
resolutely  at  their  pipes  they  shook  their  heads,  and 
the  mystery  remained  unsolved. 

Presently  the  Governor,  having  completed  his 
duty  as  rapidly  as  possible,  mounted  his  chair  again, 
and  amidst  loud  shouts  was  borne  away  to  his  life 
of  laziness  and  sloth.  As  night  fell  we  gained  the 
station-cantonments.  Taiku  had  been  thoroughly 
explored  and  in  two  short  hours  each  of  the  main 
features  of  Korea  in  the  present  year  of  grace  had 
been  presented  to  our  eyes:  the  feeble  and  dissolute 
Governor  and  his  parasite  servants ; the  docile 
population  of  sixty  thousand  people  dwelling  in  a 
city  of  huts;  the  European  churches  and  the  Korean 
temple;  the  Korean  soldiery  still  busily  drilling  and 
the  Japanese  army  of  occupation  not  even  noticing 
such  antics;  the  settlers  from  across  the  Tsushima 
straits  attempting  to  find  a livelihood  in  an  un- 
developed country  possessing  no  capital  or  money; 
the  modern  railway  passing  by  the  archaic  gates ; 
the  singing-girls  and  solitude  — each  had  fitted  in  its 
little  part.  It  was  dreary  dull,  in  all  truth. 

Daylight  found  us  afoot,  and  by  seven  we  were 
once  more  moving  forward  on  a very  mixed  train, 
piled  with  rails,  building  bricks,  and  timbers,  and 
with  all  sorts  of  Japanese  adventurers  with  their 
heads  tied  up  picturesquely  in  coloured  cloths  to 
protect  them  from  the  bitter  wind  which  chills  even 
when  you  lumber  forward  at  but  a dozen  miles  an 


On  the  Seoul-Fusan  Railway. 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


519 


hour.  To-day  we  would  make  only  sixty  miles  by 
train,  but  a sharp  pony  ride  awaited  us  at  rail-head. 

The  mountains  and  hills  of  the  day  before  had 
now  smoothed  away  somewhat,  but  still  there  were 
only  rolling  elevations  and  narrow  valleys.  Taiku 
has  grown  up  to  the  importance  it  possesses  (from 
the  Korean  point  of  view)  simply  owing  to  its 
fortunate  natural  position.  A great  number  of  rice- 
fields  surround  it  and  the  town  marks  the  end  of 
the  very  mountainous  country  from  Fusan  and  the 
beginning  of  an  agricultural  district. 

Going  along  the  road  to  Seoul,  the  railway  follows 
a broad  valley,  which  sometimes  broadens  out  until 
it  is  many  miles  wide.  Rice-fields  cover  every  inch 
of  arable  land  and  villages  succeed  one  another  with 
the  regularity  and  monotony  of  China.  Cotton,  also, 
I saw  here  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  Fusan, 
and  the  vegetation,  which  had  been  so  scant  all  the 
way  from  the  terminus,  began  to  be  more  luxuriant. 
Scrub-oak  and  pine-trees  of  somewhat  miserable 
appearance  dotted  the  country,  and  around  the 
villages  fruit  trees  stood  in  increasing  numbers.  It 
seems,  therefore,  to  me  that  the  extreme  south  of 
Korea  resembles  the  extreme  south  of  the  Liaotung, 
and  that  as  you  progress  north  the  country  becomes 
richer.  Taiku  at  miles  77-6  from  Fusan  is  doubtless 
destined  to  be  the  Korean  equivalent  of  Liaoyang 
when  Japanese  capital  is  forthcoming. 

A few  miles  north  of  here  the  stations  no  longer 
existed  even  in  the  embryo  stage.  Their  future 
sites  were  merely  marked  by  small  piles  of  materials 


520 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


and  the  lonely  huts  of  a few  Japanese  workmen. 
The  one  great  object  of  the  Japanese  has  been  to 
hurry  up  the  rail  connection,  so  that  in  the  event  of 
later  reverses  at  sea  the  Tsushima  straits  alone  need 
carry  Japanese  transports,  and  the  railway  connection 
with  Manchuria  do  the  rest.  Thus  everything  except 
the  strictly  necessary  is  being  left  until  later  on. 

At  twelve  we  tiffined  hastily  whilst  our  engine 
gurgled  down  water  from  a great  Japanese  tub 
mounted  on  a high  wooden  staging.  Korean 
coolies,  gently  urged  by  a determined-looking 
Japanese,  were  pumping  water  with  extraordinary 
energy.  Once  more  on  again  for  an  hour  or  two, 
always  more  and  more  cautiously,  for  the  ballasting- 
work  was  far  behind  us  now  and  we  were  running 
over  naked  sleepers  on  which  the  rails  had  hardly 
been  pinned;  and  finally  at  two  o’clock  a mass  of 
Japanese  workmen  in  their  blue-and-white  shirts 
loomed  up  across  our  way.  It  was  rail-head  absolute. 

We  jumped  off  and  ran  down  the  steep  embank- 
ment to  the  ponies  which  were  waiting  for  us;  and 
almost  before  we  had  moved,  rails  and  ties  were 
clanging  off  the  construction  train  by  the  hundred, 
whilst  dozens  of  willing  hands  were  carrying,  laying, 
and  riveting  up  as  fast  as  they  could  proceed,  with 
the  locomotive,  constantly  hooting,  moving  slowly 
forward  as  it  felt  the  road  growing  beneath  its  feet. 
Here  the  embankments  had  been  carried  to  a great 
height,  higher  even  than  on  the  Manchurian  railway, 
where  they  rise  far  above  the  level  of  the  country; 
for  no  longer  is  the  land  in  these  mid-Korean  regions 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


521 


what  it  was  near  Fusan,  and  spring  and  summer 
freshets  are  much  to  be  feared. 

Soon  we  rode  away  on  our  kicking  little  Korean 
ponies,  whose  vigour  is  as  extraordinary  as  that  of 
the  miniature  horses  of  Annam,  and  in  three  hours 
we  had  covered  the  distance  between  rail-head  and 
the  half-way  meeting  house.  We  clattered  into  a 
Korean  village  and  were  met  by  a uniformed 
Japanese  railway  official,  who  led  the  way,  hat  in 
hand,  to  a temple  which  had  been  cleaned  up  and 
made  as  habitable  as  Japanese  ingenuity  could 
devise.  As  we  entered  the  compound,  a deadly  fear 
came  over  me ; it  was  here  the  engineer  of  the 
northern  section  should  have  appeared.  It  was 
five  o’clock;  if  he  should  be  late  and  his  movements 
not  synchronise  exactly  with  ours,  all  my  faith  in  the 
Japanese  would  vanish. 

The  violent  half-neigh,  half-bray  of  a mule  smote 
our  ears  and  a jingle  of  bells  was  added  thereto. 
We  looked,  and  round  the  corner  came  an  engineer, 
very  dusty  and  very  hot,  with  a party  of  his  men. 
Not  even  a stretch  of  the  imagination  could  have 
called  him  late;  it  was  the  junction  of  the  com- 
bined armies  in  a certain  place  at  that  psycho- 
logical moment  which  spells  victory.  Wonderful 
Japanese ! 

But  in  the  evening,  whilst  things  were  being  dis- 
cussed, I discovered  that  Yong-dong,  the  village  at 
which  we  had  halted,  was  marked  on  the  railway  at 
miles  133-8.  Now  if  you  divide  miles  274-5  by  two 
the  result  is  miles  137-25,  which  is  different  from 


522 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


miles  133*8.  Had  I been  defrauded?  Were  we  then 
miles  3*45  from  the  real  half-way  point?  I mentioned 
my  fears  to  the  engineers  and  they  explained.  Miles 
5*7  belong  to  the  old  Seoul-Chemulpo  line,  long 
built,  and  this  therefore  has  to  be  deducted.  Sub- 
tract 5*7  from  the  total  and  you  have  268-8;  divide, 
and  you  get  134-4.  ‘^We  are  about  three-quarters 
of  a mile,  or  decimal  eight,  from  the  future  station, 
and  therefore  exactly  half-way,’’  said  one.  Japanese 
precision  is  evidently  based  on  working  everything 
out  to  six  places  of  decimals. 

Once  tongues  had  been  loosened  by  the  contents 
of  round  and  square  bottles,  it  was  easy  to  under- 
stand the  extraordinary  success,  from  the  Russian 
point  of  view,  of  the  sinking  of  the  much-discussed 
Knight  Commander.  Half  the  Seoul-Fusan  Rail- 
way Co.’s  steel  bridges  went  down  in  this  ship,  with 
hundreds  of  tons  of  other  most  necessary  materials; 
and  had  not  the  most  strenuous  efforts  been  made, 
the  completion  of  the  road  would  have  been  delayed 
at  least  half  a year  by  this  single  raid.  As  for  the 
Seoul- Wiju  (Yalu)  line,  which  is  being  built  by  the 
Japanese  military,  the  loss  of  the  Knight  Com- 
mander quite  crippled  construction,  as  steel  rails 
could  not  be  unloaded  in  Chinampo  after  November, 
and  it  was  doubtful  whether  fresh  cargoes  could  be 
got  through  by  then.  The  Hitachi  Maru  and  Sado 
Marti  case  undoubtedly  delayed  the  siege  operations 
before  Port  Arthur  in  the  most  serious  manner;  the 
Knight  Commander  delayed  the  Korean  railways ; 
and  last,  but  not  least,  the  opening  April  raid  of  the 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


523 


Vladivostock  squadron,  ending  in  the  sinking  of  a 
Japanese  transport  loaded  with  troops,  stopped  any 
possibility  of  big  Japanese  landings  off  North- 
East  Korea  at  a time  when  such  action  would  have 
materially  affected  the  campaign  in  Southern  Man- 
churia. It  is  quite  certain  that  the  Vladivostockers 
have  done  better  for  the  Russians  than  any  other 
naval  units.  I tremble  to  think  what  the  Kyushiu 
police  would  have  done  had  they  heard  such  talk; 
prompt  hara-kiri  could  alone  have  saved  us. 

The  morrow  saw  us  separate  again  into  two 
parties,  and  bidding  good-bye  to  the  kind-hearted 
men  who  had  made  the  first  part  of  my  journey  so 
easy  for  me,  I went  north  with  the  returning  Seoul 
engineer.  We  soon  picked  up  the  rails  again,  and 
by  noon  we  had  crossed  the  last  range  of  mountains 
on  a temporary  switchback,  where  a 1,000  foot 
tunnel  was  being  pierced.  From  thence  onward  it 
was  a ceaseless  changing  from  construction  train  to 
ballast  train  and  vice  versa;  then  finally  into  long 
lines  of  empties  lumbering  crashingly  back  to  head- 
quarters. Very  late  in  the  evening  we  reached  the 
station  of  Hanba,  and,  dog-tired  and  completely 
silted  up  with  soot  and  ballast-dust,  we  plunged  joy- 
fully into  boiling  Japanese  baths  and  soon  forgot  the 
world  in  sleep. 

Hanba  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  last  mountainous 
district  of  Southern  Korea  and  is  exactly  104  miles 
from  Seoul.  Already  the  place  has  assumed  some 
importance,  and  the  numerous  sidings,  engine  sheds, 
repair  shops,  and  Japanese  houses  which  cover  the 


524 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


ground  in  the  station  vicinity  show  that  it  has  a part 
to  play  in  the  future.  Whereas  for  nearly  two 
hundred  miles  nothing  but  hills  and  mountains  had 
been  filling  the  landscape  (although  from  Taiku  it 
had  been  better),  here  the  elevation  began  to  be 
much  slighter,  and  the  railway  ran  through  ever 
broadening  valleys  which  in  some  places  are  of  such 
expanse  that  they  might  well  be  called  plains.  Tall 
millet  and  wheat  now  take  the  place  very  often  of 
the  everlasting  rice  of  the  extreme  south,  and  cotton 
fields  of  respectable  dimensions  succeed  one  another 
with  great  regularity.  The  mountain  villages  have 
here  grown  into  little  townships  — not  very  imposing 
affairs  but  still  showing  more  prosperity  and  affluence 
than  would  have  been  expected.  Koreans  no  longer 
came  out  in  whole  villages  to  stand  staring  at  the 
mysterious  iron-horse  that  is  invading  their  century- 
old  solitude,  but  having  grown  accustomed  to  the 
novelty  by  having  done  much  work  on  the  embank- 
ments, they  hardly  deigned  more  than  a contemptu- 
ous sniff. 

As  we  took  our  places  on  the  open  trucks  in  the 
morning,  well-to-do  Koreans  swarmed  up,  accom- 
panied by  formidable-looking  parcels  and  bundles 
that  seemed  much  more  important  than  they,  and 
disputed  with  us  the  privilege  of  sitting  back-on’^ 
in  the  row  of  people  nearest  the  engine.  Carefully 
calculated  kicks,  very  mild  but  very  insistent  and 
continuous,  succeeded,  however,  in  changing  errone- 
ous ideas  with  some  rapidity,  thus  freeing  a space 
where  the  pure  atmosphere  of  Korea  would  not  be 


XXI 


FROM  TUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


525 


overcharged  with  the  effluvia  of  her  sons.  The 

Korean,  although  certainly  the  most  mild  and 
gentlemanly  of  Eastern  peoples,  possesses  such  an 
inherent  dislike  to  perform  monthly  or  even  yearly 
ablutions  that  a disconcerting  result  is  produced 
which  can  concede  many  points  to  garlic-laden 
Chinamen  of  the  northern  provinces  of  the  Celestial 
Empire. 

After  a weary  wait  for  a down  engine  we  started, 
and  hour  after  hour  progressed  slowly  along  a track 
which  showed  signs  of  hasty  building.  The 

northern  section  of  this  railway  is  not  so  favoured 
by  nature  as  the  southern;  the  soil  is  loamy  and 
shifting,  and  the  embankments  have  suffered  much 
from  the  rainy  season.  Strong  working  parties, 
however,  are  remedying  this,  and  by  the  summer  of 
1905  the  entire  road  should  be  of  the  same  excellent 
quality  throughout.  As  this  railway  might  become 
the  sole  means  of  communicating  with  Manchuria,  this 
was  important.  At  last,  some  sixty  miles  from  Seoul, 
we  came  on  a passenger  train  in  a station  over- 
crowded with  every  kind  of  impedimenta.  Big 
bands  of  Japanese  workmen  collected  here  were 
going  back  to  Seoul  from  completed  sections,  and 
many  rough-looking  fellows  who  were  apparently 
hucksters  and  railway-followers,  shouldering  heavy 
bundles  and  brandishing  thick  sticks,  added  to  the 
throng.  Along  dozens  of  miles  of  road  there  had 
been  no  evidence  of  Japanese  not  connected  with 
the  railway  until  now. 

For  a last  time  we  changed  into  overcrowded 


526 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


CHAP. 


third-class  carriages,  of  which  this  advance  guard  of 
future  passenger  trains  was  composed.  If  at  the 
Fusan  end  Koreans  already  appeared  to  be  patron- 
ising the  iron-way  extensively,  here  on  the  Northern 
section  it  was  even  more  the  case.  As  we  came 
nearer  and  nearer  the  capital,  more  and  more 
healthy-looking  farmers  piled  into  the  carriages, 
until,  had  we  carried  sign-boards,  they  would  have 
displayed  the  ominous  legend,  ^^No  more  standing 
place;  hanging  room  only.’^  For  the  Koreans,  de- 
termined to  travel  somehow,  loaded  themselves  on 
to  the  very  outside  steps  of  the  carriages,  and, 
clutching  tightly  to  anything  they  could  catch  hold 
of,  journeyed  to  their  capital  half  in  the  air  with 
white  robes  flowing  stiffly  behind  them. 

As  night  fell,  flocks  of  wild  geese  and  long  flights 
of  duck  rose  quacking  and  shrieking  from  their  feed- 
ing grounds,  disturbed  by  the  steady  pant  of  our 
engine  and  the  rhythmic  muttering  of  the  iron 
rails.  At  Fusan  they  are  very  proud  of  their  sport, 
and  tell  you  that  the  shooting  is  something  you  only 
dream  of  in  other  countries.  It  seems  to  me,  how- 
ever, that  the  neighbourhood  of  Seoul  can  give 
Fusan  many  points.  The  whole  country  is  literally 
stocked  with  wild  fowl,  pheasants,  and  partridges, 
making  it  a sportsman’s  paradise. 

Night  fell  and  found  me  lonely  and  abandoned  at 
Yung-dong-po,  which  is  the  junction  five  miles  from 
Seoul.  Here  a wait  was  necessary  until  the 
Chemulpo  train  rescued  me.  It  was  already  another 
world.  This  line  is  so  civilised  and  so  orderly  with 


XXI 


FROM  FUSAN  TO  SEOUL  BY  RAIL 


527 


year-old  traffic,  that  to  be  a traveller  from  the  un- 
completed Fusan  trunk  was  hardly  reputable.  Then, 
when  the  train  picked  me  up,  it  was  to  seat  me  in 
real  American  cars  of  an  old-fashioned  type,  but  still 
made  of  a wood  and  possessing  a finish  whose  like 
is  not  seen  in  the  Far  East.  Five  miles  are  not 
hard  for  even  a Korean  railway  to  negotiate,  and 
soon  we  were  puffing  past  high  city  walls,  through 
the  gates  of  which  electric-lighted  and  electricity- 
driven  cars  swept  noiselessly,  crossing  our  path  with 
the  audacity  of  torpedo-craft  to  a faint  clanging  of 
bells.  From  within  the  city  a subdued  bustle  rose; 
many  people  were  walking  this  way  and  that;  the 
moon  was  shining  peacefully;  and  thus  Seoul,  the 
Stamboul  of  the  extreme  East,  received  me  grate- 
fully in  the  soot-coated  and  travel-stained  condition 
which  comes  from  too  close  a connection  with  rail- 
way building. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 

Everything  is  amusing  in  Seoul  — not  vulgarly 
funny,  but  merely  amusing  without  knowing  it ; 
amusing  because  it  is  Seoul,  and  there  is  only  one 
such  city  in  the  world;  amusing  for  ten  thousand 
reasons,  and  lastly,  amusing  for  no  reason  at  all  — 
which  is  a serious  accusation  to  level  against  a 
helpless  place.  It  begins,  too,  from  the  moment  you 
arrive. 

The  night  before,  at  the  Station  Hotel  — re- 
christened, merely  because  it  has  been  rebuilt  in 
anticipation  of  a Great  Boom,  the  Grand  Hotel  — 
I had  been  received  in  a way  which  was  significant 
of  what  was  to  follow.  My  arrival,  telegraphed 
ahead,  produced  some  little  excitement,  for  the 
entire  establishment  awaited  me  on  the  doorsteps; 
and  the  cook,  who  had  escorted  me  from  the  station 
in  the  sensational  disguise  of  the  Far  Eastern  hotel 
runner  (to  wit,  hotel  cap,  grandiloquent  coat,  but 
nothing  much  else),  hastily  escaped  from  the  arduous 
task  of  carrying  baggage,  visibly  discarding  his 
raiment  and  searching  for  his  apron  to  begin  his 

528 


CH.  XXII  SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


529 


work  on  beef-steaks.  No  man  could  have  discovered 
his  nationality  — he  may  have  been  Korean  or  he 
may  have  been  of  that  uncertain  quantity  Eurasian; 
but  whatever  his  origin  he  immediately  became  an 
integral  and  necessary  part  of  Seoul. 

The  landlady,  an  excellent  person  formerly  con- 
nected with  some  Mission  that  did  not  prosper, 
jingled  her  keys  and  conjured  up  visions  of  a home- 
life  which  is  so  far  away ; the  hungry  servants 
standing  expectantly  around  ate  me  with  their  eyes. 
What  room  would  I have?  There  was  from  No.  i 
to  the  end  of  the  chapter  — free ; cruel  fate  — I was  the 
only  guest.  I accepted  the  situation  as  best  I could, 
my  landlady  comforting  me  with  a vague  assurance 
that  the  Great  Boom  for  which  the  hotel  had  been 
rebuilt  — here  she  stepped  back  involuntarily  as  if  to 
leave  the  passage-way  free  — might  come  at  any 
moment,  for  this  empty  hotel  was  very  exceptional. 

Dinner  finished,  it  was  time  to  stroll  round  and 
view  immediate  surroundings.  Ominous  signs  met 
my  eyes  in  various  directions.  The  early  closing 
hour,  unknown  in  every  other  portion  of  the  Far 
East,  was  to  be  enforced  vigorously  at  any  cost  in 
smoking-room,  deserted  billiard-room,  and  elsewhere; 
and  each  order  was  capped  by  a more  recent  and 
stringent  one  which  spoke  eloquently  of  the  recent 
passage  of  ribald  war-correspondents,  who,  in  despair 
of  ever  getting  to  the  front,  had  made  the  front  come 
to  them  — with  the  aid  of  rainbow  drinks.  What 
stories  did  not  these  tipless  cues  tell?  Of  games  of 
hammer-billiards,  of  whisky  and  cocktail  pool,  and 


VOL.  I — 2 M 


530 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


CHAP. 


Other  strange  devices  to  make  interminable  time 
pass.  Oh,  hotel-keepers,  never  tell  people  ordered 
to  the  front  to  go  to  bed  at  twelve;  it  must  be  the 
most  costly  order  in  the  world. 

Between  clean  sheets  for  the  first  time  since  Japan, 
it  is  hard  to  arouse  yourself  in  the  morning  in  Seoul; 
but  with  a wonderful  city  to  be  explored,  a city 
which  has  been  the  very  centre  of  the  Eastern 
world’s  intrigues  for  so  long,  it  is  no  time  to  tarry 
and  be  idle. 

Late  autumn  is  beautiful  in  Korea.  The  bitter 
north  winds  which  will  soon  sweep  down  from 
Manchuria  and  Siberia  have  not  yet  made  up  their 
minds  to  blow;  and  as  the  air,  although  crisp,  is 
delightful,  walking  in  clean  Seoul  is  a pleasure 
it  seldom  can  be  in  the  Eastern  hemisphere.  The 
streets  which  lead  in  through  the  city  gates  are  well- 
kept,  and  the  electric  cars  of  the  night  before  are 
gliding  as  smoothly  as  ever,  with  white-clad  Koreans 
who  swarm  as  thickly  here  as  they  do  on  the  trains; 
whilst  on  foot,  women  with  baggy  trousers,  coloured 
shoes,  and  picturesque  green  coats  worn  over  the 
head  (masking  their  faces  as  effectively  as  Turkish 
veils)  hasten  rapidly  along,  with  sly  looks  cast 
hurriedly  about  them.  At  the  city  gates  of  Seoul, 
almost  for  the  first  time,  a sign  of  the  position  Japan 
now  occupies  in  Korea  is  seen:  Japanese  gendarmes 
and  infantrymen  are  posted  at  every  entrance  into 
the  city,  as  if  to  notify  the  world  in  general  and 
Koreans  in  particular  that  the  question  of  entry  into 
Korea  is  now  a matter  over  which  the  Mikado’s 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


531 


Government  alone  has  supreme  control,  and  that  at 
last  a problem  which  has  been  annoying  everyone 
for  thirty  years  is  in  fair  way  of  being  solved. 
Within  the  gates,  it  is  true,  there  are  other  guard- 
houses and  police-boxes  where  Korean  sentries  and 
police,  distinguished  only  by  their  numbers  and  the 
dirtiness  of  their  uniforms,  stand  lazily.  But  it  is  no 
joint  guarding,  this,  as  was  the  case  in  Manchuria 
during  1903  and  the  preceding  years,  when  Chinese 
infantry  stood  side  by  side  with  Cossacks  under  the 
Russian  and  Chinese  flags  at  the  provincial  capitals, 
with  their  exact  relations  entirely  undefined.  Matters 
are  clearly  understood  in  Seoul,  although  the  differ- 
ence may  seem  at  first  sight  trifling.  Briefly,  Japan 
keeps  by  means  of  her  strong  arm  all  undesirables 
outside,  whilst  Korea,  under  guidance,  attends  to  her 
internal  affairs  — this  is  the  matter  in  a nutshell. 
The  whole  outward  aspect  of  the  Korean  political 
question  is  surely  shown  by  an  inspection  of  the 
Seoul  city  gates. 

Entering  the  South  Gate  of  the  Korean  capital  is 
very  much  like  going  through  the  Chien  Men,  or 
Main  Gate,  of  Peking.  You  are  almost  immediately 
in  the  Legation  quarter,  with  its  streets  of  outlying 
foreign  and  semi-foreign  houses,  inhabited  by  the 
curious  mixed  tribe  of  humanity  which  instinctively 
congregates  about  Eastern  Legations  and  battens 
on  their  favours  and  concessions.  Even  with  the 
great  war  proceeding,  which  promises  to  destroy 
once  and  for  all  the  wonderful  plotting  and  planning, 
intriguing  and  betraying,  notorious  for  so  many 


532 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAI. 


CHAP. 


years  in  Seoul,  there  are  still  bountiful  signs  of  an 
underground  activity  which  centres  round  the  Korean 
Court  and  Palace.  All  sorts  of  curious  people  find 
their  way  to  Seoul,  apparently  for  no  particular 
reason  whatsoever,  and  after  a brief  probationership 
take  their  appointed  place  in  the  subterranean 
scheme  of  things.  Greeks,  Jews,  Chinamen,  and 
dubious  Continentals  suspiciously  survey  you  from 
their  various  businesses  as  you  walk  the  streets;  you 
are  a new-comer,  and  therefore  a suspect  until  your 
business  is  known. 

Along  the  main  road  which  leads  from  the  city 
walls  to  the  New  Palace  entrance,  a spasmodic 
building  of  small  foreign  houses  is  still  going  on  — 
why  no  one  exactly  knows,  since,  if  Russia  is  finally 
beaten,  Seoul  will  lose  even  its  pantomime  importance 
and  tend  to  become  one  of  those  Sleepy  Hollows 
where  once  was  great  activity  which  abound  in  the 
Far  East.  Chinese  contractors  and  Chinese  specu- 
lators, who  control  the  foreign  building  trade  in 
Korea,  however,  have  no  two  opinions  on  the 
subject.  After  the  war  there  is  going  to  be  a boom 
and  a great  foreign  influx,  they  state  very  confidently; 
and  as  the  Chinaman  seldom  loses  money  in  ‘ futures 
it  is  well  to  note  his  honourable  opinion. 

Passing  through  this  semi-foreign  street,  with  its 
Chinese  stores,  its  suspicious  hotels,  and  its  non- 
descript inhabitants,  you  turn  a corner,  progress  a 
little,  and  then  your  first  view  of  the  Palace  bursts 
on  you.  You  do  not  see  much,  it  is  true,  for  there 
is  mainly  a big  entrance,  after  the  Chinese  style. 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


533 


encumbered  with  great  blocks  of  building  stone, 
some  high  walls,  guard-houses,  and  many  guards, 
around  which  the  current  of  Seoul  city  life  ceaselessly 
eddies.  But  what  you  do  not  see  immediately,  your 
sub-consciousness,  trained  by  the  Far  East,  tells  you 
of  later  on  just  as  accurately  as  your  own  eyes  would 
do,  were  they  permitted  to  roam  over  the  most 
secret  details  of  a wonderfully  mysterious  and 
secretive  organism. 

As  you  stand  supplying  the  missing  parts  — build- 
ing up  the  whole  structure  of  the  animal  from  a 
single  huge  fossilised  bone  — a steady  tramp-stamping 
calls  your  attention.  It  comes  nearer  and  nearer, 
louder  and  louder,  and  then,  debouching  from  the 
South  Gate  street,  a formidable  portion  of  the 
Korean  army  heaves  in  sight,  marching,  almost  as 
rapidly  as  the  Italian  Bersaglieri,  as  if  a few  seconds 
more  or  less  might  mean  the  life  of  the  Korean 
Emperor,  still  daily  awaiting  sudden  assassination. 

The  companies  of  infantry  reach  the  little  square, 
a sharp  word  of  command  brings  the  soldiery  to  a 
halt  — it  is  the  old  Russian  drill  learned  at  the  time 
of  the  great  intriguing  — and  there  is  time  to  make  a 
minute  inspection.  The  Seoul  soldiers  are  certainly 
better  than  those  of  the  Taiku  barracks,  but  it  seems 
as  if  all  Korean  infantry  carry  an  excessive  weight 
handicap  in  their  rifles  and  bayonets;  and  thus  some 
seconds  always  go  by  after  a halt  during  which 
private  grudges  are  paid  back  for  accidental 
spearing  whilst  the  operation  of  grounding  arms 
took  place.  These  little  family  affairs  ended,  the 


534 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


CHAP. 


main  Palace  Gate  Guard  is  changed.  Who  could 
describe  this  ceremony?  It  is  not  that  the  military 
movements  are  not  carried  out  correctly,  for  the 
Korean  drill  is  very  fair  — but  it  is  the  air  of  comedy 
and  play  which  is  irresistible  everywhere.  Then, 
no  sooner  have  the  squads  been  marched  to  their 
posts  than  they  are  allowed  to  do  much  as  they 
please.  Nobody  knowing  very  well  how  to  make 
the  time  pass,  it  seems  to  have  become  an  understood 
thing  for  everybody  to  mount  guard  cheerfully  at 
the  same  time.  The  men  sort  themselves  into  little 
bunches;  here,  five  men  lean  up  against  one  another 
with  their  bayonets  prodding  each  other;  in  another 
corner  are  half-a-dozen,  or  even  a dozen,  carefully 
drilling  one  another  alternately ; further  on,  three 
or  four  are  conducting  an  impromptu  sham  fight  — 
bayonet  versus  rifle-butt ; and,  finally,  the  patrols 
which  everlastingly  circle  round  the  Palace  wall 
meet  and  ambuscade  one  another  with  childish  cries, 
to  the  intense  delight  of  all  onlookers. 

Meanwhile,  the  main  body  has  marched  away  as 
sprightly  as  ever  to  carry  out  the  same  interesting 
ceremony  at  other  entrances  and  main  gates;  and 
from  other  barracks,  other  large  bodies  are  perform- 
ing the  same  office  as  zealously  as  their  comrades, 
at  all  the  gates  of  fearful  officialdom.  Korean 
gendarmes  in  scarlet  coats  and  armed  merely  with 
swords,  who  have  hitherto  been  conspicuous  by 
their  absence,  begin  to  stroll  about,  apparently 
arriving  from  nowhere  in  particular.  Their  duties 
would  appear  to  be  clearly  defined.  Whereas  the 


Outside  the  Seoul  Palace. 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


535 


Palace  Gate  Guards  and  military  patrols  watch  the 
precincts  of  the  Residence  where  dwells  the  sacred 
but  timorous  person  of  the  Emperor,  and  prevent 
any  inrush  of  armed  assassins,  the  gendarmes  look 
after  the  soldiers  and  see  that  they  do  not  play  too 
much;  and  so  that  no  possibility  should  remain  of 
unauthorised  persons  introducing  themselves  into 
the  Palace,  ordinary  Korean  police  hold  the  inner 
gates  in  large  numbers  and  inspect  every  pass. 
With  a treble  cordon  thus  interposed  between  him- 
self and  the  outer  world,  the  Emperor  should  feel 
safe,  — and  yet  he  does  not,  as  will  be  shown 
later  on. 

All  round,  from  the  front  gate  of  the  Palace  up  to 
where  the  narrow  Legation  Street  runs  away  from 
a back  entrance  of  the  abode  of  an  impotent 
potentate,  there  are  nothing  but  patrols  of  Korean 
soldiery,  slow-marching  never  endingly  and  linking 
up  the  sentry  posts  which  punctuate  every  fifty 
yards  of  wall.  Never  was  a monarch  so  well 
guarded,  and  never  have  craven  fears  been  more 
advertised  than  here  in  Seoul. 

Half  inside  the  Palace  precincts  are  the  offices 
of  the  Chief  Commissioner  of  Korean  Customs, 
Mr.  McLeavy  Brown,  who,  in  spite  of  every  effort 
to  oust  him  from  this  most  favoured  position,  clings 
with  the  desperation  of  the  defenders  of  Port 
Arthur  to  a narrow  strip  of  Government  property 
which  possesses  a vast  moral  importance.  Adjoin- 
ing the  Customs  Commissionership  is  the  British 
Legation,  which  occupies  a hardly  less  fortunate 


536 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


CHAP. 


position.  It  is  but  ten  feet  from  a Palace  entrance, 
and  the  enclosing  compound  wall  is  in  some  places 
but  six  from  the  Imperial  Enclosure.  Were  the 
British  Minister  like  a Russian  Minister,  a few  night 
visits  over  that  wall  might  secure  the  right  to  all 
Korea. 

But  it  is  at  the  American  Legation,  which  stands 
a little  higher  up  Legation  Street,  that  you  are  in 
the  closest  proximity  to  the  Emperor  of  Korea’s 
sleeping  place.  Only  seventy-six  feet  separate  the 
American  Minister’s  head  from  that  of  His  Imperial 
Majesty  when  they  are  both  in  bed;  and  when  wild 
rumours  of  awful  things,  which  never  cease  circu- 
lating in  tortured  Seoul,  reach  the  Imperial  ears, 
mysterious  messages  come  from  the  Palace  to  Dr. 
Allen,  the  American  Minister,  hinting  at  the  possi- 
bility of  a nocturnal  visit  being  made  which  would 
throw  the  capitals  of  the  world  into  some  turmoil. 

do  not  wish  the  Emperor  to  climb  that  wall,” 
says  Minister  Allen,  half-pathetically,  ‘‘but  it  is 
quite  possible  he  may  come  some  night,  for  every- 
body says  he  will.”  As  if  to  guard  against  such  an 
unfortunate  occurrence,  the  American  Legation  is 
patrolled  on  its  Palace  sides  by  United  States 
marines,  who  have  definite  instructions  on  the  sub- 
ject of  night  wall-climbing.  The  days  are  now 
over  when  the  Korean  Emperor  was  a welcome 
guest. 

Farther  away  from  this  are  other  Legations,  each 
garrisoned  by  its  own  guards.  Alone,  the  Russian 
Legation  — closed  and  deserted  — stands  proudly  by 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


537 


itself,  a relic  of  the  past.  The  Japanese  Legation 
is  a mile  away,  standing  on  the  top  of  a pleasant 
hill,  with  a busy  Japanese  quarter  as  thoroughly 
Japan  as  Tokyo  itself  below  it.  Around  this  hill 
are  congregated  ten  or  twelve  thousand  Japanese, 
engaged  in  buying  and  selling  in  their  narrow  little 
streets  and  baby  shops,  and  they  form,  as  it  were, 
a buffer  between  the  Japanese  official  world,  so 
proudly  perched  on  the  hill-top,  and  the  rest  of 
Seoul.  The  French,  German,  Italian,  and  Belgian 
representatives  are  still  here,  but  with  England  and 
America  in  Seoul,  entirely  on  the  side  of  Japan,  the 
balance  swings  heavily  against  the  continent  of 
Europe,  now  that  the  leader,  Russia,  is  gone.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  the  heavy  odds,  active  intriguing  of  very 
many  kinds  is  still  going  on,  and  Japan  has  very  far 
from  completed  her  task,  as  many  people  imagine 
she  has  already  done. 

Then,  if  there  is  the  Palace  with  its  triple  cordon 
of  guards  and  some  of  the  armed  Legations  leaning 
close  up  against  it,  there  is  also  another  factor,  or, 
rather,  there  was  another  factor,  to  wit,  the  official 
and  unofficial  advisers  of  the  Korean  Throne  and 
the  Korean  Government,  which  are  somewhat  dif- 
ferent things.  Belgians,  Frenchmen,  Germans, 
Englishmen,  Americans,  or  Japanese  — you  can  take 
your  choice  of  half  the  important  nationalities  of  the 
world  — some  belonging  to  the  old  regime^  which 
aimed  at  encumbering  the  Government  machine  to 
such  an  extent  that  no  one  could  take  exception  to 
the  most  extraordinary  affairs,  seeing  that  it  was 


538 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


CHAP. 


Europe  who  was  to  some  extent  responsible;  others 
owing  their  allegiance  to  the  new  regime^  which  has 
taken  upon  itself  the  herculean  task  of  cleaning  out 
these  Augean  stables,  and  almost  does  not  know 
how  to  begin.  There  are  French  Railway  Bureau 
Directors,  Japanese  financial  and  police  advisers, 
a Belgian  Foreign  Office  adviser,  who  is  to  be 
ousted  by  an  American;  a German  Court  doctor, 
who  is  never  allowed  inside  the  Palace;  a German 
lady  housekeeper,  who  sees  to  the  dusting  of  Im- 
perial furniture  and  the  safe  custody  of  Imperial 
title-deeds ; lady  missionary  doctors ; enterprising 
Americans  who  occupy  official  or  semi-official  posi- 
tions, or  claim  that  they  do;  foreign  this  and  foreign 
that  — a long  list  that  never  ends  and  that  can  never 
be  kept  properly  up  to  date.  Seoul  itself  now 
laughs  heartily  over  the  whole  matter,  and  does  not 
know  who  has  gone  away  on  short  leave  and  who 
is  never  to  return  again. 

By  noon,  if  you  happen  to  stroll  back  Palace- 
ways,  you  will  see  Court  and  Government  officials, 
who  have  just  risen,  hurrying  this  way  and  that ; 
curiously  attired  persons  full  of  importance  but 
withal  not  very  useful  since  the  thorough  little 
Japanese  took  possession  of  the  principal  roles. 
Now  it  requires  more  than  the  old-fashioned  double- 
headed and  treble-headed  intrigues  to  thwart  the 
Japanese,  even  temporarily,  when  they  have  the 
upper  hand  so  unmistakably.  Some  of  these  officials 
are  in  the  peculiar  Korean  sedan-chair,  with  per- 
spiring coolies  marching  as  rapidly  as  possible. 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


539 


Each  official  is  accompanied  by  a Korean  police- 
man, who  serves  as  an  armed  escort  and  gives  some 
sense  of  security.  Others,  who  wish  to  appear  more 
modern,  are  in  rickshaws  pulled  by  retainers  in 
curious  official  hats,  who  pant  so  distressfully  and 
so  loudly  that  it  requires  no  shouting  to  let  you 
know  that  they  are  near.  These  moderns  who 
patronise  the  rickshaws  are  the  drollest  sight  of  all. 
Most  of  them  are  clad  in  gorgeous  European  uni- 
forms, proclaiming  a military  rank  or  some  high 
office;  and  alongside  of  their  vehicles  pant  at  a trot 
dignified  card-bearers  in  top  hats,  to  whom  the 
unwonted  exercise  of  running  is  palpable  torture, 
and  who  keep  up  a steady  entreaty  that  the  pace  be 
moderated. 

Everybody  and  everything  wakes  up  in  the  after- 
noon, for  the  timorous  Emperor  has  finished  his 
sleep,  and  is  ready  to  dismiss  and  reappoint  his 
dutiful  Ministers  with  machine-gun  rapidity.  No- 
body is  really  anybody,  as  far  as  the  Government 
of  the  country  is  concerned,  excepting  the  Emperor. 
Even  now  the  diplomatic  battle  which  raged  over 
the  question  of  the  opening  of  Yong-ampho  (at  the 
mouth  of  the  Yalu),  just  before  the  war,  is  talked  of 
as  constituting  a wonderful  record  in  the  matter  of 
dismissals  and  resignations,  appointments  and  re- 
appointments. Each  day,  then,  saw  some  high 
Korean  official  either  dismissed,  impeached,  or  re- 
signing for  the  tenth  or  twentieth  time,  and  the 
Emperor  reversing  the  decision  made  one  day  by  a 
counter-order  on  the  morrow.  It  is  interesting  to 


540 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


CHAP. 


look  at  a chronicle  of  events  in  Korea  as  an  index 
to  Korean  Ministerial  difficulties.  In  1898  there 
were  no  less  than  nine  different  chiefs  of  the  Korean 
Foreign  Office,  showing  that  it  was  a year  of  fierce 
battling  ' for  the  rival  parties  who  contested  the 
privilege  of  dividing  up  the  peninsula.  From  1899 
to  1901  things  were  evidently  controlled  by  some 
strong  hand,  for  the  portfolio  of  Foreign  Affairs 
only  changed  hands  two  or  three  times  a year.  In 
1902  once  more  the  political  barometer  was  much 
disturbed,  and  it  was  obvious  that  attack  and 
counter-attack  were  being  pushed  very  vigorously, 
for  agam  nine  successive  officials  held  office  in  a 
single  year.  By  1903  things  had  reached  such  a 
pitch  that  the  chief  of  the  Foreign  Office  resigned 
regularly  every  alternate  day,  and  had  his  resignation 
as  regularly  refused.  Finally,  it  is  recorded  that 
the  only  thing  to  do  in  desperation  was  to  fall  sick 
— make  yourself  sick  by  drastic  measures  if  neces- 
sary — and  allow  the  Court  physicians  to  treat  your 
malady,  meanwhile  doggedly  refusing  to  leave  your 
bed.  Then  even  the  Korean  Emperor  had  to  relent 
and  gazette  fresh  appointments.  It  has  been  a 
wonderful  comedy,  which  now  has  every  appearance 
of  being  finally  removed  from  the  stage  by  the 
firmness  of  the  Japanese. 

Whilst  the  sentries  play  at  being  soldiers  round 
the  Palace  and  Court,  the  Government  officials 
hurry  to  and  fro  in  the  afternoon  in  their  absurd 
rickshaws  and  sedan-chairs,  busy  on  a mul- 
titude of  errands,  and  while  the  Emperor  lives 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


541 


in  terror  within,  the  outer  Korean  world  is  not  un- 
moved. On  the  contrary,  it  is  vastly  perturbed  at 
the  course  things  are  taking,  and  is  plotting  and 
counter-plotting  with  more  energy  and  zest  than 
ever.  From  the  ashes  of  the  old  Independents^ 
Club,  the  moribund  Pedlars’  Club,  and  kindred  semi- 
revolutionary or  anti-foreign-interference  associa- 
tions, have  arisen  a host  of  new  organisations,  whose 
exact  aims  are  ill-defined,  but  which  are  the  natural 
outcome  of  the  curious  transition-stage  in  which 
Korea  to-day  finds  itself.  Alarmed  at  the  recrudes- 
cence of  the  semi-secret  society  movement,  the 
Japanese  party  has  created  a counter-association, 
which  is  the  parent-company,  so  to  speak,  of  a host 
of  concerns  which  oppose  the  Korean  societies,  and 
break  up  meetings  in  a very  unceremonious  manner. 
This  parent-company  is  called  the  Il-Chin-Hoi,  but 
nobody  knows  very  exactly  what  their  intentions 
are  or  who  are  the  people  behind.  There  are  meet- 
ings which  sometimes  degenerate  into  free  fights, 
with  much  more  stone-throwing ; and  the  anti- 
Japanese  partisans,  who  are  naturally  very  nume- 
rous, firmly  assert  that  all  the  able-bodied  members 
of  the  Il-Chin-Hoi  are  in  receipt  of  secret  pay  from 
the  Japanese  Government,  and  that  the  collisions 
which  take  place  are,  if  not  actually  promoted  by 
the  underground  machinery  of  the  suzerain  power, 
at  least  welcomed  and  made  the  excuse  for  all  sorts 
of  demands.  How  much  or  how  little  truth  there 
is  in  such  stories  it  is  impossible  to  say;  but  the 
very  fact  that  they  exist  and  circulate  very  freely 


542 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPIT.AL 


CHAP. 


to-day  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  old  methods, 
which  are  certainly  very  unworthy  ones,  have  not 
been  completely  abandoned,  and  that  it  is  time  for 
the  Tokyo  Government  to  pay  more  attention  to 
one  of  the  most  hopeless  and  involved  situations 
which  has  ever  existed. 

The  Korean  country-side,  the  land  of  little  huts, 
appears,  too,  to  take  an  increasing  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  the  capital  and  try  to  exert  some  influence. 
Deputations  are  continually  arriving  to  make  repre- 
sentations on  this  point  or  on  that,  and  when  such 
gentry  arrive  there  is  always  a great  excitement. 
One  morning  I was  aroused  by  the  rumour  that 
some  Tonghaks  — the  tousle-headed  Tonghaks  wffio 
indirectly  brought  on  the  1894  war  — had  arrived 
from  up-country,  and  had  created  an  immense  ex- 
citement by  standing  at  the  Palace  gate  and  blowing 
big  horns  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  Imperial 
dwellers  within.  I hastened  out  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  found  a large  Korean  crowd  surrounding  the 
main  entrance.  A double  file  of  Korean  soldier}^ 
drawn  up  hastily,  with  every  appearance  of  having 
forgotten  how  to  play  in  the  face  of  such  serious 
developments,  barred  further  progress ; and  near 
their  feet  were  several  wild-looking  fellows  with 
unkempt  hair  squatting  on  a big  block  of  building 
stone  and  talking  to  each  other  excitedly.  Pre- 
‘sently  one  of  them,  armed  with  a long  horn,  got  up 
and  started  blowing  a mournful  bellow.  The  sound 
echoed  lugubriously  everyr^ffiere,  and  the  crowd 
waited  open-mouthed  for  something  to  happen. 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


543 


Nothing  did,  however,  and  presently  an  officer  of 
the  guard  approached  and  succeeded  in  persuading 
these  redoubtable  Tonghaks  to  move  on.  They 
went  down  the  street,  followed  by  an  ever  growing 
crowd  of  Koreans,  who  eyed  them  awe-struck  and 
kept  at  a respectful  distance ; for  rumours  had 
been  flying  thick  and  fast  for  months  past  that 
the  Tonghaks  were  going  to  rise  — why,  how,  or 
where  no  one  professed  to  know.  It  was  just  one 
of  the  vague  and  absurd  rumours  which  Seoul  loves 
too  well  to  forego.  Afterwards  I heard  from  an 
anti-foreign-interference  society  man  that  the  II- 
Chin-Hoi  had  been  driven  on  to  them,  and  that 
finally  the  Japanese  military  had  arrested  everybody 
for  creating  disturbances.  But  whether  this  again 
was  another  rumour,  it  was  impossible  to  say.  The 
man  who  would  “cut  the  wings,”  as  the  French  say, 
of  the  canards  flying  around  Korea,  would  soon  die 
of  insanity. 

It  is  a relief  to  take  the  excellent  tram-cars  which 
circle  round  the  city,  and,  leaving  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Palace  and  all  its  petty  intrigues,  pass  rapidly 
through  the  broad  streets  of  a city  that  has  immense 
possibilities.  The  promoters  and  managers  of  this 
Seoul  tramway  system  are  the  partners  of  an  Ameri- 
can firm  which,  by  combining  Palace  intrigue  and 
sound  business  in  the  right  proportions,  have  man- 
aged to  intrench  themselves  impregnably  in  the 
capital,  and  can  afford  to  laugh  at  all  new-comers. 
Until  the  electrification  of  the  Tokyo  tramways, 
Korea,  the  laughed-at  Empire,  was  the  only  country 


544 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


CHAP. 


in  the  Far  East  boasting  of  a modern  cable-car 
system ; and  the  success  of  the  enterprise  shows 
that  “rapid  transit’’  is  exactly  what  is  wanted  in 
countries  where  time  is  popularly  supposed  to  be  a 
matter  of  indifference.  The  great  semi-foreign  cities 
of  China  are  still  without  such  necessary  things, 
whilst  Seoul,  a mere  overgrown  village,  has  had 
them  for  years. 

There  is  much  to  see,  too,  in  Seoul  by  adopting 
this  method  of  getting ' about.  It  is  true  there  are 
no  beautiful  or  even  interesting  shops,  for  such 
things  are  non-existent;  but  the  masses  of  men  and 
beasts  crowding  the  broad,  ample  streets  present  an 
ever  moving  kaleidoscope,  from  which  it  is  hard  to 
tear  one’s  self.  Endless  trains  of  ponies  are  bringing 
in  country  produce  to  the  market-places;  rough  but 
very  serviceable  bullock-carts  paddle  in  slowly  and 
majestically  from  adjacent  districts  with  enormous 
heaps  of  food  and  fodder  stacked  high  on  them  for 
sale;  and  behind  these  come  strings  of  the  patient 
coolies  who,  under  the  weight  of  the  packs  which 
they  carry  (as  great  as  that  strapped  to  the  diminu- 
tive ponies),  step  out  just  as  briskly  as  the  ordinary 
pedestrian. 

Into  the  endless  rows  of  narrow  cloth-shops,  pack- 
coolies  are  unloading  bales  upon  bales  of  Manchester 
and  Osaka  sheetings  and  shirtings,  whilst  mixed  in 
this  throng  are  numberless  farmers  converting  the 
nickels  they  have  earned  by  the  sale  of  country  pro- 
duce into  as  many  pieces  of  cloth  as  their  shrill- 
voiced bargaining  will  procure  them.  Noticing 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


545 


many  Chinese  in  these  shops,  I requested  a com- 
pressed trade  report  from  the  Shantung  owner  of  a 
piece-goods  store,  and,  scratching  his  head,  he  laco- 
nically replied,  ^^The  crops  have  been  good;  the 
money  is  worse  than  ever;  but  the  people,  although 
troubled  about  the  war,  are  spending  very  freely, 
and  we  from  Shantung,  suffering  much  from  Japanese 
competition,  are  still  able  to  live.”  This  means  that 
the  Chinaman  is  becoming  rich,  for  else  he  would 
not  be  so  optimistic. 

At  every  point  in  Korea  where  there  are  hona- 
fide  profits  to  be  made,  you  will  still  find  the  China- 
man in  perceptible  numbers.  At  Fusan  there  are  a 
few  dozens  who  are  preparing  for  a railway  boom. 
At  Chemulpo  there  are  a thousand  or  two,  and  half 
the  import  trade  belongs  to  them.  At  Seoul  all  the 
lucrative  businesses  are  in  their  hands,  and  on  both 
banks  of  the  Yalu  the  Shantung  guilds  control  the 
lumber  and  silk  cocoon  trade,  which  is  the  richest 
business  of  all.  Whereas  the  Japanese  is  coming  into 
Korea  more  or  less  in  the  train  of  his  Government, 
the  Chinaman,  like  the  Englishman,  never  had  a 
Government  which  had  quite  enough  time  to  look 
after  him  abroad,  and,  therefore,  pushes  his  way 
alone,  indifferent  to  everything  but  money-making. 
The  Chinaman  has  advanced  so  far  that  Ningpo 
guilds,  operating  from  Nagasaki,  now  send  Chinese 
packmen  by  the  dozen  tramping  all  over  the  island 
of  Kyushiu,  and  managing  to  make  very  fair  profits,  in 
spite  of  the  alleged  poorness  of  the  rural  inhabitants. 

If  you  get  tired  of  the  broad  Seoul  streets  and  a 


VOL.  I — 2 N 


546 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


CHAP. 


too  continuous  study  of  the  theory  and  practice  of 
barter,  there  are  many  other  things  within  and 
beyond  the  walls  to  view  and  ponder  over.  Dilapi- 
dated remains  of  once  grandiose  Palaces,  triumphal 
arches  now  toppled  over,  and  half-destroyed  Chinese 
stone  tortoises  swimming  in  the  slime  and  mud,  can 
be  picked  out  in  surprising  numbers  hidden  in  the 
dead-level  of  modern  Korean  buildings  and  huts. 

Two  miles  outside  the  walls  of  the  capital  is  the 
beautiful  river  Han  with  its  sky-blue  Korean  water 
and  its  enchanting  bluffs,  where  in  late  autumn  a 
bright  sun  makes  life  more  than  worth  living.  Still 
farther  on  are  beautiful  temples  with  wonderful 
surroundings  which  make  the  mind  and  heart  wor- 
ship as  naturally  as  the  great  Honganji  temples  of 
Kyoto  or  the  Nikko  shrines.  In  such  places  the 
Korean  must  feel  he  has  reached  Nirvana,  for  all  the 
squalidness  and  sordidness  of  his  ordinary  life  are 
left  far  behind  and  he  breathes  an  air  uncontaminated 
by  the  dull  and  listless  mass  of  humanity  which 
idles  away  months  and  years  over  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  country. 

But  back  in  Seoul  it  is  always  the  Palace  and  its 
intrigues  which  claim  attention.  All  the  rest  of 
Korea  waits,  and  has  always  waited,  on  the  Palace, 
and  the  Palace,  in  turn,  forced  to  pretend  that  it 
welcomes  the  Japanese  as  deliverers,  waits  on  the 
great  Far  Eastern  war.  If  the  Japanese  beats  the 
Russian,  then  the  Emperor  must  resign  himself  to  the 
inevitable.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  war  is  incon- 
clusive, all  the  intriguing  will  begin  again,  and  by 
employing  every  wile  the  present  position  may  once 


XXII 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIME  CAPITAL 


547 


more  disappear.  To  one  standing  in  front  of  the 
Seoul  Palace  gate,  as  the  guards  and  patrols  foolishly 
play  with  one  another,  the  whole  Far  East  appears 
in  a wonderful  light.  Everything  interweaves  and 
interlocks ; everything  influences  immediately  and 
powerfully  everything  else,  no  matter  how  uncon- 
nected events  and  factors  may  seem  at  first  sight. 
And  the  greatest  wonder  of  all  is  that  this  hermit 
land,  which  is  intrinsically  of  no  great  value  in  the 
Oriental  scheme  of  things,  has  started  the  whole 
vortex  of  problems  which  have  finally  resulted  in  the 
great  war.  If  Japan  had  not  become  jealous  of 
China’s  pretensions  in  Korea,  Li  Hung  Chang’s 
animosity  would  not  have  been  aroused,  and  he 
would  not  have  sought  to  intervene  in  1894  nomin- 
ally to  crush  a rebellion  which  was  already  abortive. 
Then  there  would  have  been  no  Chino- Japanese 
war  and  the  pro- Japanese  party  would  not  have 
‘murdered  the  Korean  Queen  as  the  only  means  of 
destroying  the  power  of  the  Conservatives.  And 
had  these  things  not  occurred,  the  others  would  not 
have  followed;  the  flight  of  the  Emperor  of  Korea 
into  the  Russian  Legation;  the  Cassini  convention 
in  China  to  make  sure  that  Japan  would  not  be  able 
to  repeat  her  exploits  later  on ; the  seizure  of 
Kiaochow,  of  Port  Arthur,  and  of  Kwang-chow; 
the  rising  of  the  Boxers  as  a vain  protest  against  the 
eating-away  of  Chinese  territory;  the  occupation  of 
Manchuria.  Every  move  in  the  Far  East  is  con- 
nected with  some  other  move  — and  therefore  the 
entire  Far  East  must  be  considered  as  a whole  or 
not  at  all. 


548 


SEOUL,  THE  PANTOMIJIE  CAPITAL 


CH.  xxn 


The  sun  sets  on  Seoul  and  lights  for  an  instant 
the  whole  scene  in  a golden  light.  The  barren 
heights  of  Namsan  look  down  on  the  city;  the 
Legation  flags  flutter  down;  the  Japanese  bugles 
ring  out;  the  Palace  guards  are  doubled,  for  it  is  at 
night  that  most  is  to  be  feared;  the  last  courtiers 
hurry  home;  the  trains  of  pack  ponies  amble  out; 
the  bullock  carts  have  ceased  lumbering  by.  Then 
the  impression  of  the  first  night  rises  again : the 
gleaming  eyes  of  the  snake-like  cable-cars  moving 
slowfly  and  noiselessly  round  the  city;  the  ghost-like 
pedestrians  becoming  fewer  and  fewer;  the  twinkling 
lights  of  the  little  houses  becoming  fainter  and 
fainter  along  the  broad  streets.  Everybody  is  going 
to  bed ; ' the  Foreign  IMinisters  who  no  longer  have 
any  raison  d^etre;  the  Greek  shop-keepers  and  the 
cosmopolitan  hotel-keepers  who  are  merely  waiting 
to  see  what  happens  to  Kuropatkin  before  they 
disappear ; the  intriguers  and  the  advisers ; the 
associations  and  the  counter-associations  — all  sink  in 
sleep.  Alone  the  Emperor  keeps  his  nightly  vigil 
seventy  feet  from  the  American  ^linister’s  head. 
This  time  he  has  made  sure  there  will  be  no  killing  at 
night  in  the  Palace,  he  cunningly  thinks.  There  may 
be  a disappearance  into  a neighbouring  Legation,  but 
that  is  all.  Poor  Emperor!  the  sport  of  events  over 
which  you  have  no  control,  the  uneasy  spirit 
oppressed  by  many  ghosts,  are  you  merely  foolish, 
or  are  you  wise? 


END  OF  VOL.  I 


^ /4\>u-(>  iSiO  '*  /-Uh  vf 

f/vx^v^  w^J^  - M I 

(Cv^  1W/»  VWvWii  ^ O^t^i’Prvv,^  <LcLLl^\tZ^  l^(u>  /W"^  i Ci/VU-fli  Ci'Vv,./  - 


